Nature soundtracks romantic turmoils in bluegrass ‘Scavenger’s Instinct’
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As the fall semester continues to ramp up and life’s grounding moments become few and far between, the Canadian indie folk duo jed and the valentine never fail to musically embody the inherent beauty found in the rustling leaves or trickling rain.
The duo, Maria Khaner and Jonah Morris, who are also romantic partners, bring their relationship into their music. With a blend of bluegrass, pop and folk, I always circle back to the two niche singer-songwriters each year when they inevitably release an album of cozy yet vulnerable songs.
Released on Sept. 18, jed and the valentine’s third album “Scavenger’s Instinct,” is a collection of nine tracks that serve to acoustically express intimate reflections of enduring love in connection with nature. Similar to their previous albums, “Awake!” and “in like a lion, out like a lamb,” the duo incorporates metaphors about the environment to tell stories of affection, inspiring their affinity for the wilderness.
The seventh track, “Sweat Patterns,” embodies “Scavenger’s Instinct” as a whole, cementing itself as a much needed reminder of the strength of relying on others for support in times of exhausting change. The two lovers sing of the importance of tackling the metaphorical “storm of life” together rather than apart. The song embodies the overall message of “Scavenger’s Instinct,” building upon the importance of shared vulnerability in partnerships to get through times of transition.
“Wonderin’ if the fish will see the rain again / the stars up in the sky / and I’m hating on my body / Couldn’t tell you why,” the duo sings.
Using their signature sound of guitar and banjo, the duo also incorporates ambient sounds of running water and bird sounds to immerse the listener in the uncertain yet grounded backdrop of the wilderness. This leans into a more haunting tone both lyrically and sonically in comparison to their previous releases.
By opening with “Canary in a Coal Mine,” the album introduces themes of survival and emotional persistence through the metaphor of a canary in a coal mine, describing the need to let go of hyper-sensitivity to emotional distress in a relationship.
“Keep it loose, don’t bring it home / A canary in a coal mine, that’s what you say / brought a candle, but you won’t let me see the light of day,” the duo sings.
The lovers sing under the guise of a comforting acoustic guitar and the occasional soft trumpet interjection with a constant kick drum subtly driving the song forward.
However, not everything in life can be controlled. In “Shaping Water,” the duo expand instrumentally with the addition of strings, cymbals and harmonica as the lyrics passionately mull over a relationship that evolved into hardship. Just like how water flows, the lovers transform into people they never knew they could become.
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“Mercury Below” brings the listener back into cold contemplation with the push and pull between pursuing a relationship and leaving home. The guitar trills encapsulate the feeling of fleeting memories as the repeated phrase in the chorus, “wherever you go, I will go,” makes it sound more like an uncertain prophecy.
Tranquility returns with the constant sounds of flowing water and birds chirping in “Jam Jars.” Like “Mercury Below,” it describes the relationship between love and growing up. The introduction of distant and echoing electric guitar plucks highlight the warmth that nostalgia imbues into the simplicity of living with someone you love.
“Jam jars filled with plastic bills / cash it out on all of growing up’s hills,” jed and the valentine sings.
The trade-off between male and female vocals in “Ivy” matches the metaphor of emotional entanglement to the weeds relentlessly climbing up and clinging to old buildings.
“Second wind, a second will / a little lilac in your palm / something new, paranormal / how convincing you could call it,” the male sings in the second verse, with the addition of the female vocals in the following lines creating this musical entanglement. “Telepathic all the same / i’ve been driving round for days / I was waiting for you coins, a missing key just in my way,” they sing.
Jed and the valentine embrace their stompy roots with “Banshee.” Having been played live numerous times with a fiddle and banjo to express a country vibe, the song evolved into an energetic anthem of love amid the freezing cold. A commitment to love is explicitly expressed.
“My fingers are frozen / just full of devotion, devotion now,” jed and the valentine sings and whistles.
“Sweat Patterns” fits thematically as the next song on the album. The slower tempo, breathier vocals and lyrics reveal a promise and plea between the two lovers to open up and remain vulnerable, despite the outside buzz of the modern world exhausting them in comparison to the forest they’re set in.
Keeping the slower tempo but employing an even calmer tone, “The Forgiving Tree” expresses the emotional shelter a dedicated partner can provide. If “Sweat Patterns” was the question of loyalty in a relationship, this song is the answer, only backed by the strums of a guitar and banjo to highlight the two voices devoted to one another.
“Lilies” as the album’s last track represents a definitive shift from survival and frantically scavenging in a forest to the peace found in blooming in the same environment. Often symbolizing rebirth, lilies are the ideal metaphor for the return to authenticity in love and being confidently loved for it.
By the end of “Scavenger’s Instinct,” jed and the valentine cohesively depict the trials and tribulations of pursuing authentic love against a rugged environment, both literally and figuratively. Through grounded instrumentation and heartfelt lyricism, their third studio album furthers the duo’s signature sound of sharing their love for one another through earnest songs.
