On The Water - Return SM060

On the Water is a Philadelphia-based band with established roots in the DIY scene, returning this year with their first full-length in a decade. Their sound blends chamber folk and classical textures with heavy metal drive and multi-instrumental experimentation. Lead vocalist Fletcher VanVliet’s mercurial song structures and dynamic vocal delivery, supported by the group’s complex arrangements and instrumentation, give the band a fingerprint that is unique and recognizable within and beyond the Philadelphia scene.

Return brings a spirit of metaphysical inquiry to topics that range from the personal to the global. Such issues as climate change, the state of arts and culture, and the chaos and pressure of contemporary life are represented in VanVliet’s lyrics, as are personal reflections on divorce, identity, failure, fear, and the condition of being alive. Reverence for nature, as well as despair at its inverse—the disconnection and spiritual impoverishment of humankind—are treated with equal measures of gravity, gentleness, humor, and rage. The desire to move forward in a calm, good life is experienced in Return through a screen of Lynchian surrealism, as VanVliet both interrogates and reconciles with their subconscious.
credits

Music written and performed by Fletcher VanVliet; Guitars, Electric Mandola, Mandolin, Voice. Evan McGonagill; Cello. Jesse Sparhawk; Upright Piano, Harp, Lap Steel, Pedal Steel, Banjotar. Lucas Carine; Drums, Vibraphone, Glockenspiel, Bass VI on Culdesac, Voice. Aubrey VanVliet; Bass Guitar, Voice. Robin Carine; Lead Guitar, Voice. Micah Edwards; Alto Saxophone on Grove.

Engineered, mixed and co-produced by Jeff Zeigler at Uniform.
Co-produced by Evan McGonagill & Fletcher VanVliet.
Mastered by Fred Kevorkian. Track 4 was recorded at home, our studio and Cloud Club in Boston. Additional overdubs and mixing at Uniform. Tracks 5 & 9 were recorded/mixed at home and treated at Uniform. Track 10 tracked by D. James Goodwin at the Isokon and mixed at Uniform.