Dave Scanlon - Pink in Each, Bright Blue, Bright Green (2021)

“This is sacred music written for my own personal practice. If it is at all utilitarian, I hope that it encourages you to create something for yourself.” -Dave Scanlon

The songs on Dave Scanlon’s new record Pink in each, bright blue, bright green are endless. Their verse-chorus structures start and stop but leave the impression that, in a parallel listen or elsewhere, they were in fact unending. The instruments are sparse. The words are sparse. The spareness of the songs calls forth their “oneness,” illustrating their singularity -- that this music was written, recorded, and performed alone. The songs’ austerity create a texture that could pour from a songwriter under the direction of Agnes Martin or Robert Ryman; this austerity is at the root of Pink in each, bright blue, bright green’s elegance.

Scanlon explains that, “songwriting is a personal practice. The songs and their recordings are representative artifacts while the practice is the art object.” The result is a magical realism with constraints plainly depicting a personal world. The sounds are emotive without confession or specificity.

These songs are lyrically driven, unadorned and sung by a plain voice. Leonard Cohen-style descriptions lay images over subtle, floral textures. The words resist narrative while remaining continuous, linear. Whether or not listeners take heed to Scanlon’s suggestion to “create something for yourself,” the songs are productive themselves -- creating and describing a place for listeners.