We’ve given high praise to enchanting electro-pop act Steffaloo in the past, who most recently played our official CMJ showcase in NYC. After a pair of independent releases, Steph Thompson returns with a new full-length, Heart Beats, with the support of label Mush records. The album is now available to stream in its entirety on her bandcamp page. 

When Jack Gibson, the frontman and creative mind behind Tenlons Fort, handed me a blank CD-R inside a thin white paper sleeve with a hand drawn portrait on the cover as he readied himself to play solo at The Echo last week, I was slightly confounded. His response to my question of the meaning behind the cover design nearly took the life out of my limbs. The couple featured on the cover were drawn as a memorial. Cole and Lacey passed away this year. They were meant to be married this month, and it was decided by friends and family that their wedding go on as planned to celebrate their beautiful life and relationship. The album is dedicate to their lasting memory. 

With this backstory, I went into my first Tenlons Fort show not knowing what to expect. Donning a guitar and an electronic drum pad, Gibson, transported us to a higher place. We stood in awe, mesmerized by his vulnerability and sheer talent. There was magic in the air as his voice rang out in painful, exuberant cries. He stood alone on the stage creatively reinventing the songs on his latest self-titled release as a one man band. I have permanent chills.

The album itself feels like something you already have in your collection of invaluable classics. Gibson’s ability to effortlessly craft vulnerable, autobiographical stories is a master class in songwriting. The deep cuts flowing forth from the music are lifted to a place of hope. It tells the story of a beautiful mess, a necessary heartache and the rebuilding from the rubble – the courage to accept the brokenness of our fragile humanity and keep moving forward because of it, not in spite of it. His is a story of survival amidst pain, and loss deeper than you think a human can handle. It’s a beauty from the ashes redemption story, but there are no rose-colored glasses in sight. This is raw, honest emotion.

The album opens gently with “You’re A Child,” leading you by the hand into this brave world. As you enter, you encounter “Disaster Speaks.” On the surface, it is delicate folk pop, but there’s a heaviness undergirding the arrangement that gives it texture and depth. The band’s aptitude for weaving a classic, familiar sound into something innovative is what makes it impossible to pigeon-hole. Tracks 3 and 4, “What the Doctor Said,” and “Your Hand is A Song,” are lyrical stand-outs. Effortlessly heart-wrenching, they manage to take hold of your emotions no matter what state you are in. The deepest valley is reached at “German Film (Song for Shane), as the slowly drawn-out guitar trills signal the bursting forth of the storm clouds hovering above. A ray of sun peeks through a crack in the clouds as flower blossoms open to a new day on “Critters.” This song picks the pace up, but holds tight to the melancholy minor keys as it ups the ante on the pop side of things. It’s that moment of release you’re waiting for that truly ties the work as a whole together. But don’t expect sunshine and rainbows, as this uplifting tune leads right into the twisted, dissonant interlude, “As You Are,” that has an air of optimism that slowly descends into madness. It feels like a broken carnival ride that leads perfectly into Track 9’s creepy accordion outro. The album’s layout is off-putting at first, but it leaves you wanting to rush right back to the beginning and start the journey all over again. Gibson’s troubadour status is firmly established with this release. He becomes Dylan, Neil Young, Ben Gibbard, Matt Berninger, or even Justin Vernon, not only in tone, but as a master storyteller. Stream the entire album below from their bandcamp, and catch them live Nov. 1 at El Cid. – Jacqueline Caruso