One of the markers of former Louisville based singer/songwriter Scott Kirkpatrick aka Bro. Stephen was a pervasive sense of quiet introspection, not necessarily of the melancholic sort but his debut full length Baptist Girls as an album of calm, carefully trod nostalgic reveries. There's probably a ton of factor's responsible for the change in sound in "The Shape", Kirkpatrick's triumphant comeback single but almost all of them probably stem from Kirkpatrick's relocation to the West Coast. "The Shape" is probably the most upbeat we've ever heard Bro. Stephen.
Enlisting much more than his acoustic guitar, "The Shape" functions as a delightful deviation from the barn-creaks and captured whispers of Baptist Girls without really dabbling in all the more enjoyable narrative subjects. Despite the bighter tones, Kirkpatrick is still singing of missed opportunities though filtered through the lens of his sudden long distance relationship with everything he once knew. "The Shape" is the kind of song that comes from someone who is content with the life they are leading but mindful of the path they've traveled to get there - that Kirkpatrick is singing of those he left behind instead of all his rich new possibilities both keeps in line with his established tendency towards internal inventory and grounds his new material in a relateable sheen.
Bro. Stephen's "The Shape" digital single with b-side "Gathered Up" is out June 10th on Crossroads of America but available to stream/pre-order now.
No comments:
Post a Comment