(2019) William Ryan Fritch - Deceptive Cadence_ Music for Film, Vol. I & II]
Review:
Film composer and multi-instrumentalist William Ryan Fritch will release his long-anticipated double album, Deceptive Cadence: Music For Film Volume I & II on May 17th, 2019 via Lost Tribe Sound. It’d be a laborious task to run through all of Fritch’s many accolades, since 2009 he has released over 20 albums and composed music for over 30 feature films and more than a hundred short films. Lost Tribe Sound has been by his side since the beginning, releasing a few of his finest stand alone scores, including the critically acclaimed, ‘The Waiting Room’, ‘Eagle Hunters in a New World’, and ‘The Old Believers.’ Of course, LTS could boast for days about what a musical genius we believe he is. Yet, having written so many of these press rants for Fritch in our time, we’ll try to curb ourselvesat the risk of preaching to the choir or sounding disingenuous. That isn’t to say, Fritch isn’t well deserving of mountains of praise. We are honestly amazed that his film music hasn’t attracted the attention of more major motion picture studios. To date, Fritch has penned imaginative and impressive scores for narrative and documentary productions that run the gamut of most every imaginable genre and aesthetic. From raw and emotional films that uncover startling humanitarian and ecological crises, such as 2016’s Oscar-nominated short film ‘4.1 Miles,’ and National Geographic’s sweeping ’Into The Canyon,’ to eccentric and nuanced biopics and documentaries on figures such as Ursula K LeGuinn, Bill Nye and Johnny Cash. Fritch has found unique and artful voices for these wide ranging stories. Most of those familiar with Fritch, know only of his albums as a singer songwriter or genre-elusive multi-instrumentalist, which truly represent a small fraction of the depth and range of his work. ‘Deceptive Cadence…’ gathers the most remarkable and memorable pieces from Fritch’s vast catalog of film compositions. Rather than filling up two volumes with half assembled film cues and fragmented themes, Fritch has gone to great lengths with ‘Deceptive Cadence…’ to make sure both volumes tell a story, build theme, and create a satisfying full album experience as good as any movie they may have come from. While this music once graced a particular film, show, or commercial, it has all been reimagined, reworked and made whole in post-production to complete the epic narrative of ‘Deceptive Cadence…’ Even fans who remember the release of ‘Music for Film Vol.’ I in 2015 will be in for a serious treat. Rather than simply reissuing the album alongside the newly minted ‘Volume II,’ Fritch dove back into ‘Volume I,’ carving away the fat, leaving only the most breathtaking pieces from the original and replacing the rest with assuredly more mature and enduring compositions. The results of this care are astounding. Keeping in place the emotional sophistication and poise of the original, Fritch seamlessly entwines new classical motifs into the existing, enhancing everything for the better. It’s provided ‘Volume I’ with a newfound sense of regality, romance and legend. While ’Volume II’ compliments ‘Volume I’ exceptionally well, much of the music was selected from more recent films. ‘Volume II’ eagerly shares the progression of Fritch’s work over the last few years, reveling in a new found subtlety, patience and confidence as his skills as a composer have advanced. There’s a more minimal and spatially aware approach at play here. Quiet and unhurriedness become the heroine of the story. With ‘Volume II,’ Fritch has been consistently practicing his craft, refining his unique minimalist/maximalist approach to better support the emotional impact of the lead melodies. Dispersed sparingly throughout, are some of the most long-form ambient classical compositions of Fritch’s career, offering a wonderful chance for listeners to become immersed in waves of drone-like strings, submerged piano melodies, and light bending arrangements. ‘Volume II’ undeniably deepens the well of talent and world building that Fritch has shared with us thus far, and binds together multiple film works into a complete and captivating whole. ‘Deceptive Cadence: Music for Film Vol. I & II’ is a moment to celebrate Fritch’s 10 year career as a composer. Even if much of the music was conceived to complete someone else’s vision, it’s still some of the most personal, heartfelt music he has ever composed. Made all the more intimate, since Fritch typically has to fall in love with the subject matter of the film and the approach of the director in presenting it. Working from his secluded and intimate home studio in Northern California, amongst the rolling green hills, farm pastures, and the occasional breath of salty ocean air, one can begin to gleam why his music feels so alive. It’s no wonder that since the beginning, Fritch has championed visual projects rooted in the preservation of the natural world, and the discoveries, innovations and stories of the people working to improve it. ‘Deceptive Cadence: Music For Film Vol. I & II’ arrives with a double CD album housed inside a lavish A5 size hard cover book. Each edition contains 8 full color pages of photos from Napa based photographer and designer Joe Borreson. Borreson’s wonderful images should be familiar to those who have followed the labels output, having lent his talents the cover of the original ‘Music For Film Vol. I’ digital edition, along with Fritch’s ‘Her Warmth’ and ‘Dampener’ EPs, as well as, The Green Kingdom’s ‘The North Wind and the Sun.’
Tracklist:
CD1
01. Reshuffle the Deck 02:18
02. Silent River 02:57
03. Sinews 01:10
04. Lauren’s Love 04:12
05. Imagined Worlds 02:50
06. Our Thirsting World 05:04
07. Spilt 02:12
08. A Tangle of Birds 03:43
09. The Weight of What’s Unsaid 03:02
10. To Ache for What’s Never Been 02:34
11. Abandoned Space 01:40
12. Same River 02:01
13. Mending What We’ve Cleft 04:18
14. Exit wounds 01:43
15. A Renewed Sense 03:30
16. Sirens and Cicadas 01:18
17. Emergent 04:26
18. Interlaced 02:40
19. With Each Sweet Submersion 02:04
20. Processional 04:31
21. Incrementalism 01:53
22. Hopeless Romantic 01:53
23. Visible Wear 02:05
24. Till Fresh Earth 04:42
25. Scraping the Dregs 02:46
CD2
26. Gut Level 03:29
27. Fractured 02:53
28. All the Feels 01:53
29. Lionize 03:36
30. Unwittingly 04:11
31. Sanguine 03:53
32. Implosion 03:42
33. Fatalist 02:36
34. Ricochet 02:56
35. Familiar Patterns 04:42
36. The Red Underneath 03:28
37. Sleight of Hand 07:09
38. Time Curves So Subtly 03:37
39. Dumbstruck 03:36
40. Separation 04:00
41. In a Senseless Ether 07:10
42. Spectral Chatter 03:29
43. Children in Wartime 02:37
44. Oh Great Inaction 04:09
45. When Tragedy Coheres 03:24
Summary:
Country: USA
Genre: alternative folk
Media Report:
Source: CD
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Bit rate: ~ 852-1000 Kbps
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits