Mandolin Orange - Tiles of a Teardrop

by Carl Bookstein

published: 26 / 3 / 2019

Label: Yep Roc
Format: CD

Excellent sixth album from bluegrass duo Mandolin Orange who create with it a poignant reminiscence of the loss of their songwriter’s mother

Review

The lyric is “Makes me want to cry,” as the album 'Tides of a Teardrop' goes straight to the heart. North Carolina’s Mandolin Orange, duo Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz, create a fine blend of bluegrass, folk and roots music. Their latest and sixth studio album 'Tides of a Teardrop' is songwriter Marlin’s reflection on the loss of his mother at a younger age. It is a portrait of a father and son coping with despair. To deal with such a loss is to find comfort here. 'Golden Embers' opens the album with an easy strum of an acoustic guitar. A fiddle joins in. “Loss has no end,” Marlin sings, “Like notes on pages/She breathes life into our veins.” Marlin is singing about his mother and sharing his trouble in mind. The effect is poignant. “You can help me/Her memory will ever shine like golden embers”. The opening song is melodically beautiful. The lyric on 'The Wolves' is “Everything’s so great/Can’t get better/Makes me want to cry.” A mandolin shimmers, with the easy acoustic bluegrass tinged music that Mandolin Orange does so well. Emily Frantz does a lovely vocal turn on 'Into the Sun'. “Ain’t I got fortune,” Frantz sings, “I think of my family, and all of my friends.” The lyric on 'Like You Used To' is “Love me like you used to way back when/Put all your troubles right on me.” It is a heartfelt love song- meaningful, inspirational and divine. 'Lonely All the Time' is a healing tune, perhaps bridging some divide. “So if the feelings that I’m feeling could bring you home to me this evening.” The effect is to repair. 'Late September' creates pictures, lyrical snapshots. “When the bars all holler last call/A new day to begin/Counting down to closing time again.” On 'Suspended in Heaven' the lyric is “Mother is gone/She’s leaving the shore for the sea of all knowing/Her journey’s unending/Tides of a teardrop suspended in heaven.” These words are accompanied by more rich, resonant mandolin. The lyric makes you want to cry and at once think of the healing rain. On 'Tides of a Teardrop', Mandolin Orange has created a poignant eulogy to Marlin’s mother and a profound reminiscence. Mandolin Orange is a band with real momentum. Their live concerts are drawing in fans by the scores, complimented now by 'Tides of a Teardrop' which hits just the right note.

Track Listing:-

1 Golden Embers
2 The Wolves
3 Into the Sun
4 Like You Used To
5 Mother Deer
6 Lonely All the Time
7 When She's Feeling Blue
8 Late September
9 Suspended in Heaven
10 Time We Made Time

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/MandolinOrang
https://twitter.com/mandolin_orange
http://www.mandolinorange.com/
https://www.instagram.com/mandolin_ora
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCC-C
https://plus.google.com/10624022231859