Laura Kerry
The band Edmondson is actually two Edmondsons—brothers Jack and Robert who come from Hollywood, Florida and now split their time as musicians between Gainesville and Sacramento, California. On their new single, “Turnings,” their familial ease and sentiment is evident. Picking up the theme that emerges in the title of their forthcoming album, Strange Durations, due out in May, and their first single, “Meanwhile,” the brothers lead us through a reflective meditation on time. “The last time we drove here was when we were kids,” they sing in a smooth, slow melody whose lines bleed over into the next. It’s a nostalgic observation only siblings can share, a dimension that makes a simple line rich. Coming full circle, they repeat “Everything is turning” at the beginning and end of the song—a comment, it seems, about the immovable forward motion of time.
In their short existence, Edmondson have already proven themselves a band that considers every layer of their music, and in “Turnings,” they continue that streak by perfectly marrying form and content. The song begins with a piano line that ascends and descends with light urgency. As drums, bass, and a meandering guitar enter, the piano continues its consistent movement up and down, until the song enacts its title by turning at the halfway point in an instrumental swell. Then, after a second refrain, the song turns again, this time into a two-minute segment of smoky jazz piano.
“Turnings” also performs another change of course, from the nostalgic psychedelic–rock leanings of their other single, “Meanwhile,” to a more progressive-rock feel, but each song is also entirely original and eludes any conclusive attempt at classification. Signaling another promise of what’s to come on Edmonson’s debut, “Turnings” provides plenty of food for thought to sustain us with until May.