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U.S. born Beth Wimmer is living for years in Switzerland and releasing her music from there. This time around she recorded the music in her adopted country together with her new partner Mike Bischof. The musicians accompanying her manage to catch an upbeat sound even in the more serious songs like e.g. 'Let's Be Loving'. The song starts with the line "She died before she said I'm sorry". What happened and why, remains unclear. It is quite a statement to start with. Despite this serious topic, death and disappearance of friends, the message "time is valuable, let's be loving right now", is positive and that is what gets across, despite the song being in a minor key. I have another Beth Wimmer favourite.
The single released this spring, 'Sweeter', was already one. As far as I know, it is the most upbeat song by Beth Wimmer so far. This song is all about being in love, being happy together, of sparks flying and she doesn't mind sharing it with the whole world. It results in a fun song, stirring emotions, bringing a big smile to my face and pleases my ears at the same time.
Musically, Nature is somewhere in between singer-songwriter, folk and country with some pop overtones in the great melodic strength most songs show. The lead guitar played by Mike Bischof has that twang as a signifying sound and is instantly recognisable. However, just as easily the lead electric guitar is replaced by an acoustic one, a saxophone and even a violin. Expect a John Hiatt inspired song as well, making it harder to pinpoint the style into one easily identifiable spot. It all results in a varied album with a very much live sound. Wimmer and Bischof have done a nice job in producing the album, where the spacious mix of Sacha Love deserves attention as well.
In two songs 'Ghost & Men' producer Damiano della Torre makes an appearance on keyboards. His presence gives 'Nature', the title song a very warm sound. Without stepping into the foreground, the Hammond B3 is there filling up the holes in the music with a sound comparable to a thick, warm carpet filling a room. In 'When It Rains', a mildly up tempo song, his style of playing is somewhere between percussive playing and long-held notes.
Summing it all up, Nature is an album containing a few songs that are classic Beth Wimmer, like opener 'Brown-eyed Man', to songs that are definitely exploring new avenues like 'Sweeter' and 'When It Rains'. Add two really great and serious songs, 'Let's Be Loving' and 'Nature' and it's clear that Nature landed well here.
Wout de Natris
You can listen to and order Nature here:
https://bethwimmer.com/ep-nature-out-now
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