In October 2023, Chattanooga, TN singer/songwriter’s four-track Goldenrod release moved me and touched my heart so deeply that I set an all-time record for praise-filled verbiage spilled about a short EP, approximately 1100 words. In retrospect, perhaps I got carried away, letting my emotions guide so much prose. But I was passionate when I wrote, “The Goldenrod gathering of singles into a single EP is just four tracks totaling 15 minutes – but these will be the most emotionally and spiritually rewarding moments of the day if you take the time to listen, absorb and read.”
Since Teni has now unleashed the wonderfully heartfelt, lyrical yet whimsical, equally heartbreaking and hope-filled full-length version of Goldenrod, it makes sense to share (for those who missed the first review) a bit of what I felt about the songs he previewed this new collection with. I wrote (and still feel, now that I’ve revisited them), “From the wistful, nostalgic opener (and first single release) ‘Goldenrod’ through the gently hypnotic, deeply mystical “Cold Wind (Ghost),” the four tracks tie nicely together thematically and will be the promising foundation for Teni’s first full length album due in 2024. Helping to bring her bold sonic vision to life and create the perfect vibe behind her tender yet emotionally pointed vocals and acoustic guitar is the stalwart ensemble of studio veterans, including past collaborator Roger Gustafsson (bass, steel guitar), guitarist Phil Faconti and Grammy nominated cellist Dave Eggar.”
To encourage physical sales, Teni is offering two extra cuts on sales of the CD and vinyl versions. The first of these is “Cinnamon,” a co-write with her sister Fritsl about a fascinating heart play in which the lover who is contemplating leaving is the one who is surprisingly abandoned before he can act on his shifting emotions. The lovely and intuitive, interactive dance between Teni’s most emotional vocals and Eggar’s intense strings is seriously breathtaking.
The second bonus cut is a single minute instrumental reprise of the opening track “Firefly,” a gentle, wistful tune that introduces us to Teni’s dreamy yet world-wise vocals, her deep emotional dances with Eggar’s haunting cello and the album’s overall theme of life’s necessary but sometimes heartbreaking changes and the ephemeral nature of love and the magic it makes us feel. Catching sight of a firefly allows us to experience a momentary flash of excitement in the dimming hours of the day- or perhaps a few flashes, as she sings, “Firefly stay awhile/Your twinkling lights bring a smile.” Yet she (and by extension, we) are ever aware that “the summer night will soon be gone/With the coming of the dawn.”
Though it’s lower in the tracking, the lone outside tune on Goldenrod, ‘Killing the Blues,’ will surely get a lot of attention, since it was covered so memorably by Robert Plant and Allison Krauss on their Grammy winning Raising Sand. It’s been part of Teni’s consciousness since she heard John Prine’s version and she felt the opening imagery (“Leaves were falling down like embers/In colors red and gold they set us on fire”) fit the dual melancholy/hopeful aesthetic of the project. As engaging as Plant and Krauss’ harmonies are, Teni’s stark, alternately whispery and soaring solo version (unless you count Eggar’s graceful shadings) captures the lonesome and confused emotions of the song more powerfully.
Though listeners are certainly welcome to ride Tene’s intimate, deeply soulful journey straight through from “Firefly” through the lilting, reflective, advice-to-self song “Don’t Look Down (Head Up In the Clouds),” there are some suggested points of entry along the way that can lead to an even more rewarding immersion. One favorite is the metaphor-filled, folk and classical tinged “Passerine,” a floating, fluttering tune for the perching birds that caught her fancy. In a childlike way, she calls out, “Do you hear me? Warbling out a song” as she wishes “I could light up my own heart/Maybe I’d mold off all these things.” As she explains it, it’s a song about uncertainty, a letter to her younger self – “and almost an apology.”
Another gem on the “entry point” list are the cautiously adventurous, intensely self-aware and ultra-cathartic “Here to Stay (Rough), in which she emphatically admits (with Eggar dancing along as underscore) that “I’m not afraid to hold onto my dreams/But man, sometimes it’s hard to own my scars. . .I’m a little hardened, a little headstrong. . .” Then there’s the passionate, pop-flavored anthem “Small Steps,” a daring, optimistic forward seeking declaration that, “With all these small steps, they take big courage/I’m learning to love myself in life.”
The enlightenment leads to a headspace where we may be aware that like everything in life, we all “Return to Dust,” there’s still hope to see that letting go can be “So Beautiful.” Sonically, the latter song is a bit of an outlier, a slow burning alt-rock ballad full of percussive energy and the hypnotic distorted guitar energy of Phil Faconti.
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