TWO SAD LITTLE ISLANDS DRIFT TOGETHER/TWO LONELY LITTLE MONKEYS FIND A TREE/COFFRET

Description

Richard Edwards is in the pocket. He has been around for several albums now: Lemon Cotton Candy Sunset in 2017, The Soft Ache & the Moon in 2020, and Ghost Electricity/Vampire Draw in 2022. Just as Margot's records defined his twenties, this "Beach Bum" era, as he calls it, could well define his thirties. This period is expanded in Two Sad Little Islands Drift Together, Two Lonely Little Monkeys Find A Tree: Rare and Unreleased 2015-2023. Starting with Lemon Cotton Candy Sunset, Richard has directed his ongoing work towards capturing a feeling of being at sea. Life can find us at sea in many ways: in a marriage or partnership, or in the desire for one; in raising children, with its endless wonders and worries; in bodies and minds that confuse understanding (whether ours or that of professionals); in our rotting world, which we have irreparably messed up. "But what does that look like?" you might ask. Like the cascading fingerpicking of Mike Bloom in "Lil Dead Eye-d (b.)," or the soothing combination of Dave Palmer's piano and Perla Batalla's multi-tracked vocals on "Love (b.)." Like the Los Angeles-based Section Quartet on "True Love Waits," or the triumphantly stoned jam session of Velvet Ocean that is "Jane Greer With A Gun." Like Richard's use of melody and imagery on "Pink Lightning (b.)" and the first single "Benzedrine," where he is masterfully accompanied by Erin Rae (on the former) and Maria Taylor (on the latter).