Family Stereo feels like an appropriate name for musician Blake Watt to release music under, considering that both of his parents (Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt) come from musical backgrounds and released material over the past four decades both as solo artists and together as Everything But The Girl. If you paid attention to the pop and mainstream side of music in the 90s you may have come across Everything But The Girl, who started off on the jazzier pop end of the spectrum before heading into trip hop and electronica territory on their breakout efforts. But like a lot of other children of musicians, Blake’s music is very different sonically from his parents and Family Stereo’s full length debut The Thread explores a wide range of ideas within the indie rock, folk, and pop spaces. It’s the type of record that’s a bit more subdued and doesn’t always jump out at you, but the subtlety of the melodies and warmer tones draw you back to discover everything it has to offer.
I must admit that I had a different idea of what this album was going to be based on the lead single “Fault Lines”. That track immediately drew me into Family Stereo, as it has a jangly cadence and soft guitar work that had a lot of pop aesthetics while also expanding outwards over time. It’s incredibly catchy and has this 90s Britpop meets 2000s American indie rock sound on the surface, but dive underneath the surface and the guitar work gives off hints of Americana and country. But compared to the rest of The Thread, this song does seem like a bit of an outlier as most of the songs are slower paced and more subdued compared to “Fault Lines”. This took me by surprise initially, and it does make the material require a few times through to get a sense of all the little details that are at work in these arrangements, but as you spend more time with The Thread the more it pulls you in. Opener “Remedy” showcases just how sparse Watt’s arrangements can get, as he lets inviting piano and sparser melodies expand over the course of the track, letting his voice drive much of the space. “Waiting on Nina” flips the script yet again, opting for a laid back and breezier folk and pop rock number that also has Americana flourishes thanks to the inclusion of lap steel guitar. The second half of the album leans heavily into the sparse melodies and more free-flowing songwriting, as “Removed” has more of a dreamlike atmosphere and brings a bit of shoegaze into the Americana, while “Three Moon Trail” is noticeably more folk. I do think the second half doesn’t stick out quite as much for me (with “Silhouette on the Hill” being an exception thanks to its gorgeous climax), and some of this comes down to the tempos being a bit more uniform. Another bouncier, faster tempo like “Fault Lines” would have helped to break things a bit more, but I still like the subtle details and warmer tones Family Stereo has to offer.
When the instrumentation tends to be a bit sparser and things are oriented more towards the singer/songwriter end of the spectrum, albums live and die based on the strength of their vocal performance. This is an area where Family Stereo excels, as Blake Watt has one of those voices that instantly draws you in. On some of the songs there’s an airiness and fragility to the performance, particularly on some of the sparser moments like “Remedy” or the title track. But on “Waiting for Nina” and “Fault Lines” the approach is a bit more direct and has a lot more energy behind it, bringing in a bit more of that alternative and indie spirit from decades past to it. Stylistically I’m reminded of something between classic folk troubadours, the type of 2000s indie rock you’d hear at every coffee shop, and some of the pop and folk rock over the past few decades that blended similar influences. At times I get a little Thom Yorke from Watt’s pitch as well but depending on what singer/songwriters and folk/rock adjacent artists you followed over the decades other influences may pop out.
With a full band lineup backing him on The Thread, Blake Watt and Family Stereo has a lot to offer fans of everything folk, indie, and alternative. Watt has covered quite a bit of ground on this debut, and it’s interesting to find an album like this that sometimes reminds me of the fragility and airiness of pop rock like Copeland one moment and then heads more towards the Americana and classic folk hero sound the next. It does sometimes feel just a bit too muted to me which does dull the impact, especially on the second half, but there are still a lot of little details that have drawn me back. I’d be interested in hearing Family Stereo explore a bit more of the faster, jangly indie pop/rock and some of the alternative country routes even further, but this is a great foundation to build from. The Thread is available from Bella Union.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg