by John Brouk
Lily of the Valley is the latest album from Philadelphia-based indie rockers, 22° Halo. The follow-up to their terrific 2021 album Garden Bed, is a welcome continuation of the band’s intimate and intricate compositions that this time around explore the theme of holding on to hope in the face of personal turmoil. 22° Halo’s music fills in the middle section of the interlocking Venn Diagrams of first wave slowcore, folk-tinged indie singer-songwriters, and soft psych pop artists such as Chris Cohen. With overlapping and interlocking crackly, twinkling guitar leads that beautifully contrast with frontman Will Kennedy’s deep, breathy vocals, these tender and masterfully arranged songs feel like a warm blanket on a cold, rainy night, providing temporary comfort from life’s concerns.
Album opener and lead single “Bird Sanctuary” is a catchy lo-fi gem with a rhythm section of warbly, wah-wah bass and no-nonsense drums that are tight and focused, aiding one of the album’s many inventive, cyclical guitar lines. This one mirrors the vocal melody of the chorus, which is sung in duet by Kennedy and wife Kate, who’s brain cancer diagnosis is the primary focal point of the record. The recurring motif of birds serves as a reminder of the beauty that can be found in nature and in life’s quiet and carefree moments that are so easily overlooked. These small instances are perfectly encapsulated in endearing slice-of-life lyricism, reflecting on the poetry of everyday activities like taking a walk to the drug store, reminiscing while viewing online photo albums, and gazing at Beanie Babies arranged on a bedspread. When a loved one is enduring medical hardships, these moments can feel even more sacred.
There is a definite bitter-sweetness found on tender tracks like “Noise Machine” and “Ivy”. The former’s lullaby-like rhythm guitar and repeating accent lead guitar line get interrupted by a divergent, free-form fuzzed-out solo that breaks in between descriptions of caring for a loved one. “Ivy”’ has a dissonant introductory keyboard chord that soon gives way to a jazzy-feeling acoustic chord progression and a second vocal feature from Kate. Another gentle tune, “CVS on a Walk,” has descriptive imagery of a doctor's office visit paired with a distorted and wavering violin hook and great interplay between guitar, bass, and drums.
The pace of the album’s tracks are steady, the intricacies of the compositions and shifting of dynamics creates all the excitement needed without hardly having to ever increase over the BPM of a steady heart rate, beating with the resilience of life. These dynamic shifts are perhaps best exemplified on the second track that mentions birds by name, “Orioles at Dusk,” which is characterized by alternating sections of anticipatory string plucks and a driving bassline that swells into a bursting jubilant refrain with bright guitar strums. This segment of the song eventually wins over, resulting in a repeating, grooving instrumental coda that nearly doubles the length of the song.
The descriptive and vulnerable honesty that is expressed makes each song feel like an entry into a musical diary, which is fitting since Kennedy expressed the making of this album was therapeutic and made him grateful to have music as a channel to work through. The caring and thoughtful manner in which the songs are arranged seems akin to the attentiveness one might give to a loved one in need. Deeply emotional and moving, this album is true to the symbolism of the flower for which it is named. Purity, joy, love, sincerity, happiness, and luck are all apt descriptors of this exceptional collection of songs.