by Cole Makuch
Macie Stewart’s (Ohmme) Mouth Full of Glass is like a spontaneous break in the clouds on an overcast December afternoon: it simultaneously prompts bittersweet longing for past seasons, a moment of heightened awareness of the present, and warm optimism for seasons to come. Regarding the past, Stewart reflects on childhood friendships and personal tendencies. Of the present, intimate self-reflection and the current state of the world. For the future, they express hope for more accessible self-honesty and for building a home that’s “warm and sweet”.
The album practically breathes as limber vocal melodies interplay with a bed of fingered acoustic guitar. Filling out the soundscape, an organic ensemble of strings, synthesizers, reed instruments, vocal harmonies, and piano heighten the dynamics from lone singer-songwriter to those of a cinematic orchestra. Even with such colorful instrumental expression at their disposal, Stewart introduces the most profound break-in-the-clouds atmospheric changes with subtlety: a key change on the second chord of the first track, candidly named “Finally,” rips the arrangement away from tonal certainty and onto an unfamiliar journey of change; an uncanny background of dissonant plinked piano and strings on “Golden (For Mark)” transitions the song’s theme of sentimental childhood memories to one of a child lost too soon.
Stewart’s attention to detail on all fronts of songwriting, arranging, and production masterfully articulates complex emotions and realizations in the same way a good novel places readers directly into an author’s head. While Mouth Full of Glass doesn’t rock like Ohmme (there isn’t a single song with drums!), Stewart’s made something truly special here and I’m excited to hear what comes next.