Upon first listen to The Red River’s Little Songs About The Big Picture, I was grabbed by its nods to Iron and Wine, Sufjan Stevens, the Cave Singers, and Animal Collective (and even occasional hints of early Bright Eyes, as on “Grand Fasse”). However, it’s got something more… it feels like something one could listen to on one’s porch, happily sipping some summery drink while rocking back and forth. It carries a melancholic joie de vivre, if that’s possible – a sense of awareness of things beyond one’s vision, carried all the while on a melody that reminds one of life’s short, bittersweet nature.
