Pulling out alternative folk that still maintains a voice of its own can be tough. But Halifax folksters Owen Meany’s Batting Stance do just that with their latest, Feather Weights. A cleanly split balancing act, the eight-track album draws you in with four bouncing and feathered songs, then brings you into the weight of things with four pieces of solid rumination. And while the album sports track titles that would give Sloshy a run for their money, Feather Weights is as heartfelt as it is cerebral.
“The Androgynous Hockey Stick” starts the album off with Mountain Goats-like punch that lunges forward and swings back gently on its heels, tackling toxic masculinity. It reflects the structure of the entire album’s experience beautifully and has all the teeth and vulnerability of adolescence.
The jaunt of “He(art) Attack” ups the forcefulness, shining with verbose mouthfuls that ring of Neutral Milk Hotel and some decidedly pop yields on the choruses. Both opening tracks clock-in at just over two minutes, so there’s not much time afforded to let you sit with all that’s being thrown at you.
An intriguingly expressive bassline carries things along into “Car Odyssey”. Cailen Alcorn-Pygott’s licks keep up most with Daniel Walker’s sprawling vocals here, giving a jazzy whirl to the rhythm before settling into a warm and driving energy.
“Game Show Winnings” serves as a bit of an emotional interrupter à la AJJ’s “Fucc The Devil” on Knife Man or Mountain Goats’ “Dance Music” on Sunset Tree. It bobs up and down with a muted smile and glossy imagery: “The first contender had yet to be diagnosed/ undoctoredly picked by our charismatic host.” A fresh face on a familiar social critique, “Game Show Winnings” is a solid button on the first half of the album.
Easily the strongest track on Feather Weights, the second half opens with “Krakow”, a reflection on the band’s European tour. A classic melancholy pervades the track, Walker’s guitar and vocals alluringly held back while Mike Belyea’s percussion chitters away underneath. Siobhan Martin’s keys and Daniel Ledwell’s horns haunt across the song, one which can be best described by its own lyrics: “A paper bag containing homesick-ness.”
“Empty Vespers” wears its heart on its sleeve as a song of the soul that questions its own, crying out “halo, come back.” Its clenched-fist passion carries on into “Every Child”, Walker’s meter and vocal rhythm playful and tight and the instruments in swelling unison. The song builds in momentum and tension, but never quite breaks- and that might be the point in this lament of the world’s sorry truths.
Feather Weights closes with “Breakfast Again”, gently brought in with an acoustic line resembling “Taps” and certainly searching to mourn similarly. Voices and instruments glide in on the choruses with a solemn tightness, pulling the heartstrings between lonesome verses. Sighing out the universal anguish of a breakup, the album closes with a bittersweet truth- ‘All of us are better when we’re adored’.
Owen Meany’s Batting Stance shows off beautiful craft on Feather Weights. The lyrics are intellectual and dive deep, but there is wholesome wisdom to every song. The music is simple but excellently accented. Without a doubt, the group may be walking out with the championship belt.