"Ears fatigued by undernourished bedroom pop will feast on the arrangements here, which, in this economy, sound deliciously expensive-or, to be a little less crudely capitalistic, valuable. Dienel makes several lyrical references to gardening, often in a way that suggests struggle-they dig in inhospitable soil ("I built...that shitty little garden there/Loved it so hard though nothing came up") and name-check flowering plants that do battle with heavy snowfall-but the lushness of the soft-rock sound suggests abundance, an extremely fruitful harvest indeed."
""Seventeen"'s crisp disco drums invite a Fleetwood Mac-style twirl or two on the dancefloor, and standout single "The Butcher Is My Friend," a song " about limerence in inhospitable terrain," takes a simple synth line and hustles it toward arena-rock ecstasy. There's plenty of amusement in the pastoral, but Dienel knows that sometimes you have to kick yourself out of the garden, fill the car with fossil fuel, and put the pedal to the metal."
Dienel moves from claustrophobic, isolated frenzy to a sound of lightness, ease, expansion, and elbow room. The music adopts a tasteful 1970s palette with producer Adam Schatz and a roster of session musicians providing thoughtful piano, judicious horns, and indulgent vocal harmonies. Rich arrangements counter undernourished bedroom-pop fatigue and convey a sense of value and abundance. Lyrical gardening imagery evokes struggle in inhospitable soil alongside flourishing soft-rock lushness. A smoky voice suits languid tracks, while uptempo songs like "Seventeen" and "The Butcher Is My Friend" push disco drums and synth lines toward arena-rock ecstasy, mixing pastoral amusement with forward momentum.
Read at Pitchfork
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