I’ll always welcome a concept album into my music library. There’s something appealing about a band or artist exploring a unified theme over the course of a whole album, as it can either act as a new way for an artist to go about creating their own particular style of music or have them trying something entirely new. However, it’s a little harder to judge the effect it has on an artist when they make their first album a concept album. And, in the case of Connecticut duo The Willow & The Builder, things are even more curious when the theme is the their own name.
Think of the phrase “The Willow & The Builder” and you’re most likely going to come across pictures of those drooping, weeping trees and, well, builders. It doesn’t sound like the most exciting combination of words but surprisingly the duo – Richard Miron and Adrian Simon – manage to get plenty of material out of it without ever sounding like they’re clutching at straws. Were it not for their chipper arrangements and friendly Glee-like voices, they might sound like they take it too far at times. “A Vast Emptiness” sounds like the prelude to an epic Disney song (and even hits a few piano chords that sounds achingly similar to “A Whole New World”), with its storybook tale of the willow tree that goes from being a child’s favourite place to visit to the wood for a fire. It’s cheesy but it’s also pulled off with a charm that’ll have even the Scroogiest of music listeners coming over to its side.
And “A Vast Emptiness” isn’t the only track that sounds like it wouldn’t be out of place in a Disney movie – which is no bad thing (I mean, when’s the last time we had a Disney movie that had great songs like “Hakuna Matata” or “Prince Ali”? And no, none of the High School Musical movies count). Bustling opening track “Teahouse Treehouse” boasts an infectious chorus that you’ll submit to after a couple of listens while also being a perfect introduction to the lively enthusiastic sound the album carries on with until the closing moments. These guys sound like they are the kind of people who would actually make a treehouse full of “playing cards / And jars of jelly-beans / And candles all aglow” and invite you into it without any weird George Harvey vibes seeping through. Come to think about it, even the “The Willow & The Builder” sounds like a left-over script left from the Disney studios. Once you’re able to match the title with the upbeat sound the band creates, it’s a little easier to imagine how they saw beyond the initial limitations the phrase seems to have.
But the music does go beyond sounding like a Disney soundtrack: “Oh Willow! (Why Wallow?),” with its mention of a winter wonderland and plinky piano melody, could easily find a place on your next Christmas mix; the shrill choir and major chords on “Rosaline” give it a welcome gospel sound while the flute flutters on “Cut It Down” bring to mind the orchestration of Sufjan Stevens before the track lets rip for a two minute crescendo that I want to say is cathartic, but then I remember this album is about trees. Still, it feels genuine, and the earnestness of tracks like “Cut It Down” and “Heartache” help sell it.
There a few moments when the material doesn’t hit you quite as well as the better and more infectious ones like “Teahouse Treehouse” and “Heartache.” “Mansion Man” is a much needed respite from the fanfare surrounding it but it never seems to get itself off the ground. “What’s Next” on the other hand gets itself to a choral climax from a Death Cab For Cutie-like guitar chug without making the journey there particularly memorable. And while I don’t want to dispel the charm the duo create, there’s definitely some people that may well find their sugary sound a little too sweet and their almost childish fascination a little too smarmy. But even the sweetest sentiments never feel saccharin, nor do the most upbeat moments feel smug. And it would be very easy to sound smug when you’ve built a goddamn treehouse.
