Today we have the pleasure of featuring The Pull of Autumn. From their hub in the Rhode Island-Boston area, the indie-folk art-rock collective comes with a new album in hand, called ‘Memory Tree’ – their fifth to date. Not so long ago – in 2022 – we introduced our readers to their spectacularly diverse ‘Beautiful Broken World’ LP, which involved some pretty big names in the music world, including The Pop Group’s Mark Stewart, Living Colour’s Doug Wimbish and producer Adrian Sherwood.
This album is a different animal, so to speak, with a heavier emphasis on indie folk, as demonstrated in the lead track ‘I Was Just Dreaming’. a calming and enjoyable offering that features Boston-based artist Bruce MacLeod on vocals. Described as “a melancholy remembrance of moments in time and life”. Daniel Darrow says, “This is a cover of legendary Scotland band The Orchids. Bruce and I are both fans of Sarah Records and our cover of this song is our tribute to a great time in music. We’ve added a modern twist here that retains the core beauty of the song.”
The Pull of Autumn is a ‘super group’ of sorts, orbiting around Rhode Island artist Daniel Darrow of 80s post-punk group Johanna’s House of Glamour and core members Bruce MacLeod, Matthew Darrow and Luke Skyscraper James (I.R.S. recording artist Fashion). Each release involves a revolving door of notable and emerging artists, both from the local music scene and further abroad. The band’s debut 2018 eponymous album was followed by‘Afterglow’ in 2019, ‘Small Colors’ in 2020 and‘Beautiful Broken World’ in 2022.
“I love how ‘I Was Just Dreaming’ perfectly captures the moment of a dying crush, where you’re still all in enough to have your hopes, but are planning an exit – maybe one with a bit of a flourish. This song is brilliant. I just did the best I could with it, stripped what I had down to a couple of tracks, and sent it to Dan. He knows just what to do – here I like his choppy piano bits and the somewhere out there synth swells, perfect. The song ends with a couple of the demo tracks spliced back in … a sort of accident, but definite nod to the title of the song,” says Bruce MacLeod.
The new ‘Memory Tree’ album, produced and mixed by Daniel Darrow and mastered by Bruce Macleod, features contributions by such artists as Philip Parfitt (The Perfect Disaster), Ricky Humphrey (This Twisted Wreckage), San Francisco-based artists Leigh Gregory and Julius Manning, Berkeley singer-songwriter Sophia Campbell, and two local music legends – Rhode Island Rock’n Roll Hall of Fame inductee Paul Everett and producer, songwriter and artist Kraig Jordan.
“For our new ‘Memory Tree’ album, the usual genre-bending music has been replaced by a well-defined continuous take on electro acoustic ambient music and jazz. I call this “night music”. It’s been created with a singular vision lyrically and musically, speaking to the past memories and touching upon what the future may hold. The album features many veteran Rhode Island artists, whose music has moved me for many years, as well as artists from around the world, including Britain and France,” says Daniel Darrow.
‘I Was Just Dreaming’ is available across online stores and streaming platforms like Apple Music andSpotify, as well as Bandcamp, where the ‘Memory Tree’ album (out on May 31) can already be ordered via Boston-based RBM Records on CD and digitally.
TRACK LIST
1. Memory Tree (featuring Daniel Darrow)
2. Walter Benjamin (featuring Leigh Gregory)
3. Freedom’s a Thief (featuring Sophia Campbell)
4. Lovely Fellow (featuring Luke Skyscraper James)
5. The Dolphins (featuring Paul Everett)
6. Awakening (featuring Leigh Gregory)
7. I Was Just Dreaming (featuring Bruce Macleod)
8. Lines Written (featuring Philip Parfitt)
9. A Shrine to Past Memories (featuring Matthew Darrow)
10. Lost Time (featuring Julius Manning)
11. Flow Motion (featuring Ricky Humphrey)
12. Opening / Closing (featuring Kraig Jordan )
More from The Pull of Autumn / RBM Records
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