
7.7
Go Gentle
Ian Fisher
Ian Fisher’s newest album Go Gentle is a hauntingly emotional and deeply thought-provoking exploration of the process and aftermath of loss and grief. This is an extremely personal topic for Ian, with the album being heavily influenced by the loss of his mother who passed away after fighting cancer for 26 years.
Most of the songs on the record are intimate, feeling very personal with muted drums and subtle guitar chords/fingerpicked riffs accompanying Fisher’s vocals. It often feels like you’re alone in a room with him as he sings directly to you; such is the level of intimacy created in these tracks. On ‘Growing Pains’, the addition of a piano adds a beautiful layer of complexity, giving the song depth. The layered acoustic guitars, coupled with a slight echo effect, on the opener track ‘The Face Of Losing’ is another beautiful moment of musicianship with the purposeful decisions made in regards to the instruments reflecting the emotions of the songs while also emphasising the feeling they create.
On later tracks, an electric guitar is introduced. On the penultimate song ‘Independence Day’, there is an instant groove as an electric guitar powers the song and increases momentum, making a nice change. The guitar chords are strummed quickly during the chorus, giving it a rockier edge. The guitar continues into the closer ‘Box of Dust’ however it is subtle, setting an atmosphere that retains the emotional punch needed. Tender chords help with emphasising the writing as Fisher sings: “I’m wrestling with the fact that you are gone. But you are not gone from me.”
The balance between allowing the emotions to have their place and not letting them overwhelm the listener or be overshadowed by instrumentation is a tightrope that is walked throughout the length of the LP as a whole. The lyrics are what hold the songs together. Even on weaker tracks like ‘Somebody Loved’ and ‘In Her Hand’, the songwriting retain the personal and emotional heart of the album as a whole. ‘Mother Please Forgive Me’ is sung directly to his mother, fingerpicked and intimate, ‘Tigress’ feels darker and gloomier in the atmosphere, very grief-stricken. The violin is subtle during the guitar solo but adds beauty to the song.
But the lyrics shine, with Fisher singing: “You don’t go gentle, you rage through the forest like a storm.” On ‘Underneath Your Wing” he sings: “Where I go, you’ll be there with me hiding underneath my wings.” The LP even opens with the emotive line “Nobody can tell me how to feel, I know what is real for me.” You are constantly drawn back to his writing throughout every song, with the heart of the album being shown in his lyrics as he battles the loss of his mother.
Go Gentle is a personal and sentimental journey through grief and the memory of a lost loved one. The heaviness of the topic is handled delicately, never once being underplayed or overshadowed by groovy electric guitars nor being overwhelming by the intimate acoustic guitars. It is a heavy album, one wrought with emotion and love, and one that marries beautiful memories with considered instrumentation, leading to a thought-provoking outcome once the record is finished.
Order Go Gentle by Ian Fisher HERE
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