Evening Machines by Gregory Alan Isakov | Album Review
Isakov’s 2018 album is an atmospheric folksy take on anxiety, immigration, and emotional damage.
Singer/Songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov was sparked to write for his fourth album, Evening Machines, by the devolving atmosphere around immigration at the time. The South African native discussed how the topic, along with his struggles with anxiety, shaped this project in his Atwood Magazine interview:
“I think it was the digestion of a certain period that I was going through from touring all the time… A lot of what was influencing me lyrically was stuff going on in the media with immigration — my family are all immigrants, and I really can resonate with what’s going on — but also just the idea that there are so many ways of moving forward: There are so many different ways to talk about that. I had also had a really, really hard year, the year before, investigating some anxiety that I was going through. I think it was just kind of helping me through all that.”
The album was written at Isakov’s Colorado farm studio. What came from these sessions was an often lush and earthy blend of sounds that provided the backdrop to Gregory’s story-like lyrics.
The album opens with the story of immigration on “Berth”. Isavok blends the warm sounds of the Wurlitzer keys and slide guitar with the atmospherics of strings which brings a dreamy quality to the piece. The song tells the story of the struggles and awe that these immigrants face while sailing over to the United States. Gregory’s website shared the following insight into the writing process:
“The string-swept opening track, ‘Berth’,…Isakov wrote and recorded during an all-night session. The original version of the song was 12 minutes long — and it wasn’t until Isakov and his brother…started editing and cutting verses that [Isakov] realized ‘Berth’ was ‘an immigration song, about landing in this country and throughout time’ — something he knew well, as a native of Johannesburg, South Africa, who moved to the U.S. as a child.”
The song’s words vividly cast the image of someone aching for their homeland yet trying to remain steadfast in their resolve for a new life, “Silver winged, broken English, boys they smoke/ Talk and joke above the water/ New York lady, holding in her heavy hand/ Sacred lantern, guiding dawn/ Quit all that, quit all that, quit all that looking back.” I really like the determination that Isakov puts into this piece.
“San Luis” has a much more hushed folksy feeling to it. Gregory melts acoustic guitar and banjo with the smooth harmonies of his backing vocals that give the song a texture like oil paint. Isakov provided the following statement in Atwood Magazine about the creation of the piece:
“I started it in the Great Sand Dunes in San Luis Valley in Southern Colorado, and there’s a lot of Colorado in that song. The feelings and the kind of spirits that I found there, that made it into the writing. But I finished it in San Luis Obispo, in California on tour. And it was trippy, because I was in this hotel, and it felt bizarre.”
I get a sense that this is not only being a love song to someone but to his current hometown of San Luis, Colorado. This definitely has the most calming energy to it. All the elements come together to give such a wonderfully rootsy vibe.
“Southern Star” is a bit more jaunty. The mix of banjo and acoustic guitar gives the song its chugging momentum. The string really brings more drama to this track. Gregory weaves a tale of two clearly broken yet bonded people in this relationship, “And the storm clouds are thirsty/ I can see them bursting, watch them gathering light/ And the walls in the bedroom now are pounding out/ Were we broken open baby, maybe just a crack/ Swore I heard you whisper that you preferred us like that, oh.” The sepia-toned varnish that the instruments give this song brings out a tragic beauty to this story.
We get our first piano-oriented piece with “Powder”. I really like the mechanical quality of the deep piano melody. It brings out the feeling of sorrow that seems to haunt this track. Again, the strings only seem to amplify this emotion. I feel you could spin the lyrics of this piece in a number of ways. The remorseful tone of these comparisons in the opening, “Were we the hammer/ Were we the powder/ Were we the cold evening air/ Were we the wild geese/ Were we the tall trees/ Were we the shot in the air,” personally bring to mind the question of how have we gotten to this point. What was the catalyst? Were we right or did we cause this? I quite like this song.
“Bullet Holes” very much reminds me of the cold folk sounds of Bon Iver’s debut For Emma, Forever. This really comes forth through the cool rush you get from his acoustic guitar playing and layered backing vocals. Gregory gives the song more of an Americana flair. He speaks to the impermanence of life and the damage we take along the way. There is a sense of healing (even if fleeting) from the love of his partner, “Drifting, passing through/ Until we all fall, we all do/ In the meantime, come and cover me up/ I’m all patched up and headed home/ (Cover me up with your love).” It’s one of the most hypnotic tracks on the record.
We get a sort of gospel-tinged sound on “Was I Just Another One”. The organ, bells, and low, thunderous marching drums really bring this holy feeling to the surface. This marries well with Isakov’s themes of internal judgment. He asks if this person has found their own redemption or has fallen to their internal demons to wall themselves off, “Did you ever find the garden, where the doves go to bathe?/ Did you open up your heart there, or were you quiet and afraid?/ Did you light up every lantern; your flame whipping against the wind?/ Or did you fall back to the alleys, with all your secrets to defend?” The song never erupts instead, it intensifies and contracts. I think this treatment gives it much more depth.
We get the most intensity from the single “Caves”. The electric guitars bring out much more energy when paired against the other organic elements. Gregory gave the following insight into the writing process for the song on Instagram:
“I wrote this song with my friend Ron Scott from Austin. He came up to visit me and we were wandering around the farm and going for these long walks through the hills around Colorado. Ron and I spend a lot of time being quiet. He’s one of those friends that reveres silence as much as I do. We share a similar world where we write from. Some songs are about a story, a conversation. This one is more about the places they can bring you. And that love for silence.”
You do get importance in moments of silence from Isakov’s words, “This town closes down the same time every day/ Put out the smoke in your mind/ Let’s put all these words away.” There are some elements that feel a little too indie-folk (i.e. Mumford and Sons-esque) to this track, but I do enjoy the overarching sentiment of this track.
“Chemicals” brings back the gentle folk tone that painted some of the earlier songs. Gregory keeps the piece rather stripped down. I think this works to bring out his internal struggles with anxiety. I can really feel that tense almost suffocating feeling that comes with an anxiety disorder in his words, “Tell me why all these pages are flying round in the yard/ How my hands can’t seem to find your hands in the dark/ Tell me, tell me how the hell did we get all the way up here/How gravity’s gone, gravity’s gone.” I can really get the sense of overthinking and overstimulation that comes with this sort of anxiety (something I too deal with).
“Dark, Dark, Dark” brings back some of that jaunty nature heard in “Southern Star”. It’s an understated energy that is brought out by his guitar and percussion. Gregory really brings the western reds and browns out in the Colorado imagery in this piece. I get the feeling of being at a loss for words at this moment from his words, “Howl at the half moon, radio queen/ She’s all smoke, she’s all nicotine/ The songs in my pocket just crumble apart/ Won’t you sing me something for the dark?” The earthiness brought out by the banjo and strings call out to his appreciation for his current homestead.
Isakov drifts back into the dreamier qualities of his music in “Too Far Away”. The guitar work alongside the keys feels as if you are floating through this honey-toned song. He conjures the image of someone lost in their own sorrows desperately struggling to find a way out, “Hey, how have you been/ Since you let in/ The clouds through your window as it rained/ The last time we spoke/ You were glued to that telescope/ I heard you say it was too far away/ Was it too far away?” The track comes off as very conversational. He ends it with an optimistic take that you’re not alone in this storm.
We bring back the metaphor of bullet holes as emotional wounds in “Where You Gonna Go”. Isakov keeps the song warm through his guitar melody while adding warped elements (like his heavily reverbed vocals) to add that feeling of unease to the piece. The song forces you to confront these bleeding mental wounds before they suck the life from you, “Where you gonna go like that?/ With the holes in you, with the holes in you/ Summer sun won’t come/ With the holes in you, with the holes in you.” This song has my favorite ambiance out of all the others on the album. It just fits the mood so well.
The album ends with the rustic sounds of “Wings in All Black”. While I like the overall live presentation of the instrumentation, I feel the main guitar melody to be a little too one-note for me. Lyrically, the song has much more power. Each verse is a different spin on being lost (be it from a bad relationship, geographically, or in your own depression). I wish the song a bit of a different treatment from what it currently has. That said, its quiet, thoughtful nature is the perfect way to end this record.
Isakov’s songwriting is quite strong throughout this entire album. Songs like “Berth”, “Powder”, “Chemicals”, and “Too Far Away” do a fantastic job marrying his sound with the lyrical content of each track. I found the project as a whole to be a very calming presence. The strings added weight to the landscapes he painted. I also really enjoyed the personal touch that he adds to the topics of immigration and anxiety. I really connected with those moments. There were a few tracks that felt a little flat to me: “Caves” and “Wings in All Black”. I think if you enjoyed the sound of Bon Iver’s debut, you’ll the way this album comes together. It feels both nostalgic and fresh. My overall thoughts on Evening Machines:
Loved it: “Berth”, “Southern Star, “Powder”, “Bullet Holes”, “Chemicals”, “Too Far Away” & “Where You Gonna Go”
Liked it: “San Luis”, “Was I Just Another One”, “Caves”, “Dark, Dark, Dark” & “Wings in All Black”
Dislike it: None
My overall rating: 7.5 out of 10.
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