After many exceptional singles, Tenby-based duo Desert Life unleashed their debut full-length, “Let It All Pass.” It’s a comprehensive collection consisting of outstanding compositions previously announced by several excellent singles like “I Don’t Wanna Know,” “Tangled Light,” and “Sphere.” Soundwise, Desert Life almost solely relies upon the fundamentals of folk rock music. Still, these skillful musicians fully stacked their debut album with some of the finest elements borrowed from Americana, country, alt-folk, indie folk, indie rock, indie pop, folk pop, etc. With experimentations like these, Desert Life offer a pleasant listening experience that will unquestionably appeal to true folk-rock fans, but it will also suit even those newbies who are stumbling upon this music genre for the first time.
Maybe these experienced musicians presented their abilities through the introductory singles, but these are not the only standouts on this marvelous recording. Quite the contrary, the entire material exemplifies how folk rock should sound in these modern times. Tracks like “Tangled Light,” “Hiraeth,” “Caught On The Wind,” “No Colours,” and “Never Be The Same” are just some of the examples, but as I said, the entire record sounds divine from scratch to finish. Desert Life‘s poetic, meaningful, contemplative, and storytelling lyricism shines through flawless vocal performance that expertly balances between low, mid, and high notes, emphasizing cleverly arranged instrumentations. You’ll need to spin this record many times because Desert Life fully stacked it with catch, cleverly assembled chord progressions performed by acoustic guitars.
The slide guitar decorates these compositions even more with its ambiance, themes, leads, and other sonic maneuvers, while the equally complex low-end notes provide more than necessary heaviness, depth, and clarity. It’s also nearly mindblowing how the accordion fits in this sonic equation. Desert Life’s love for this particular instrument is notable in many songs, and they undoubtedly put these orchestrations in all the right places. Of course, this folk-rock journey wouldn’t be complete without an exceptional drumming performance that introduces many moderate, well-accentuated beats and fills while additional percussions decorate the rhythm section even more.
As you can see, Desert Life thought about even the tiniest details while writing, composing, recording, and producing their debut full-length album. Their brilliant ideas and otherwordly musicianship resulted in a magnificent folk rock album that will not only suit fans of the genre but also those newbies who’re stumbling upon folk rock for the first time. “Let It All Pass” is a demonstration of experience, boundless creativity, talent, brilliant ideas, and musicianship. You should check it out as soon as possible. The album is available on all streaming platforms.
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