Last week, Lindsay Reamer shared with us her debut LP, Natural Science via Dear Life Records; a new body of work that introduces the Philly-based artist to the forefront of conversations within the indie-folk world. “There’s a strange smell in the air / Something like spring, something rare / I’ve walked this way many times before / The houses look the same but I know my door”, she sings with vivid recognition over lightly plucked strings on the album opener, “Today”. Soon falling into a tender folk groove of sticky piano notes and driving drum fills, a collage of textured strings paint the backdrop of not just this song, but setting the scene for an entire album animated by presence, pushed by artistry and driven by sincere intention.

In the scope of traditional folk stylings, Natural Science is rooted in the day to day – what comes around goes around in the name of genuine storytelling. As a former field scientist, traveling through the cinematic landscapes of the American National Parks and the often forgotten in betweens, Reamer’s writing revels in her emotional calculations, visual observations, and understanding of the small things that make life so unique. With constant movement, the lead single “Figs and Peaches”, featuring Eliza Niemi on cello, plays to the summer romantics and pop-hook lamenters that thrive in the thick sunny air. “Gardens on the land / Castles on the beaches / I trust my hand and / Pluck my figs and peaches,” she sings with such gratification; an ode to carving your own path, picking your own fruit, defining your own beauty.

With recording help from Lucas Knapp, Reamer has come into her own sound with such open confidence; where deliverances feel rooted to her heart and the sonic branches are given space to grow where they need to go. The dilapidated lo-fi ballad of “John’s Song” or the constructed wavelengths of distorted guitars and trickling strings on “Mushroom House” progress and blend with ease when sandwiched between alt-country pop hooks and riveting folk grooves of songs like “Necessary” and “Lucky”. Even with a nod to the classics, Reamer closes the album with “Heavenly Houseboat Blues”, a cover originally written by Townes Van Zandt and Susanna Clark. Reamer’s rendition though, featuring Peter Gill (2nd Grade, Friendship) on guitar and Jon Samuels (Friendship, MJ Lenderman) on vocals, plays to the most biting elements of those traditional compositions, yet inspirited by her own stylings, before being washed into the sea with harsh natural field recordings, a body of water, and a meandering fiddle that manages to remain afloat till the very end.  

Some of the most emotionally fervent moments on the album are displayed within the dualities of reflection; where Reamer simmers in the sweet spot between moments of triumph and setbacks. “Spring Song” is driven by the light and breezy chorus that is meant to be consumed on repeated listens, yet isn’t wrinkled by the defined expectations and disappointments that the song represents. “I’m standing still, I only live to fill the space between / The coming and the going,” she sings on the chorus, where the following “do do’s” hold as much weight as the looming undertones at hand. “Red Flowers” is drowned in passiveness, as Reamer’s poppy reverbed vocals feel to have their own layer of consciousness, watching and listening as life moves quickly past her. “Can you handle the bitterness / Of something real? / Or are you just running from / The scary things you feel,” she sings on the delicate track, “Sugar” – cautious, beautiful and one of the more sobering moments on the album.

Natural Science is a collection that moves at its own pace, and to its credit, the album’s greatest strengths come from those little individual blossoms of patient voicings and unconventional instrumentals that feel enticingly fresh for the genre. Playing God over model trains, eavesdropping of Days Inn gossip, waking up next to day-old take out, overly large prized vegetables, creeping on an ex – Reamer’s dedication to the mundane, brought to life within her broad depth of emotions, is richly beautiful, warmly inviting, super catchy and deeply human; a remarkable debut for an artist that is just getting started.

Written by Shea Roney