Justin Farren is a singer and songwriter based in Sacramento. In 2005, he released his first album, The Sound Of Flight, and followed that with Songs From A Spare Room and Another Bluebird Day. In 2016, he was one of the winners of the Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition For Emerging Songwriters. Then a couple of years later, he was chosen for the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival’s Emerging Artists Showcase, and in 2019 won the Songwriter Serenade contest. Now in 2020, he is releasing a new album, Pretty Free, which features original material, showing his songwriting talent. In addition to writing the songs, Justin Farren plays a lot of the instruments on this album, including acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, organ, bass and percussion. He is joined by guests on certain tracks, including Brian Chris Rogers on drums, bass and backing vocals; André Fylling on keyboard and organ; Anna Tivel on violin and backing vocals; Aaron Smith on electric guitar and backing vocals; Sam Phelps on organ; and Kerry Farren and Amelia Farren on backing vocals.
Pretty Free opens with “A Little Less Time,” in which Justin Farren sings “Besides, you’ve always been this old and now you just look your age/And you were colder back then, a little harder to start/The same way you grew into that nose, I guess you grew into your heart.” Are there more songs about aging these days, or am I just noticing them more now? Not sure, but I do find that songs like “A Little Less Time” resonate strongly with me. Part of it is of course the lines about losing hair and so on. But this song has a lot more than that to recommend it. It kind of sneaks up on you, with sparse instrumentation at first, just guitar backing his voice at the beginning, and then the music grows, creating, or illuminating, a larger landscape. Aaron Smith plays electric guitar on this track, and André Fylling is on keys. “Always a little more love and always a little less time.” That’s followed by “Eyes Be Healed,” a song with an interesting dynamic, the way the lyrics are delivered, coming rather rapidly against a sweet folk sound that is established first, the guitar having a nice, slightly laid-back vibe. The lyrics are delivered with a growing power, telling the story of Peter, a nearsighted boy who was good and polite, “not that there was much of a choice those days.” A song about different types of sight.
“How’s Your Garden Grow” has a pretty, romantic sound, Justin Farren’s vocals having an intimate quality here, like it’s late at night, and this song is just coming out of him, the memory taking him back. “And she moved like you do when you know where to go/She held her hand out to me/I was too young to know.” Anna Tivel joins him on violin and backing vocals, providing some beautiful work. Then “Fixer Upper” opens with the line “Looking back, we probably should have bought some fixer upper in a better part of town,” making us immediately wonder how the relationship is in the present, and what their living conditions are. There is a somewhat relaxed, pretty vibe about this song, and it begins to build from there. “Somebody wake that fool up, tell him that he’s never going to be that free again.” It is interesting how certain lines from songs stand out because of how they reflect your own experiences, your own thoughts, and how in those moments your life and the songwriter’s life become intertwined in an odd way, or they intersect. In this song, the lines “And there’s a freeway that cuts this town in two/And on the day they laid it down, they knew it would” stand out for me, for they make me recall that moment when a new highway was being built in my hometown, and how it was going to cut right through the property of a friend’s family.
“There’s No Such Thing As A Bad Day” is a fun, playful song, playful in both the lyrics and the delivery. It is totally enjoyable, especially in this time when bad days seem to far outnumber the good. “But the bullshit screams from mountaintops/And a wall about collusion/And I ain’t talked to my mom in a month/So you can build your wall and build your bridge.” And perhaps we can all relate to these lines: “‘Cause I got places to be, and people to be/And too much to do on too little sleep.” Yeah, there is a good deal of joy in his delivery, and obviously a certain humor. That’s followed by “My Uncle Bill,” a song that looks at a guy after his death, seen through the eyes of his nephew. I especially like the details about his apartment: “A pocket Emerson next to the toilet/And some nunchucks under the bed/And every Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition since the year after Mary left.” Sam Phelps is on organ on this track. Then “One More Night” is a love song in which he sings about knowing he’ll be coming home soon. I like that line about the luck of meeting that special person, of seeing her face: “And what dumb luck that I saw yours and somehow knew what I had found.” I’ve said it before, but we can use love songs these days. Check out these lines, which follow that line about luck: “And how so much of what I know of you was clear to me that day/You learn a lot about a woman just walking with her in the rain/Is she tilted like a work of art, is she head-on like a train.” This is one of my personal favorites.
The first line of “Two Wheel Drive And Japanese” made me laugh, “I’ll sing a country song about a pickup truck.” But with the very next line, the song becomes more serious, “And about a girl that I did not deserve.” It is a song of young love, and the way teenagers deal with such matters, when we know nothing, and try to show others the person we think we want to be, or think they want us to be. “I ran a red light to show off/But you weren’t the only one who saw.” This song is full of wonderful details, but the closing lines are what stay with me: “I would have told you I was sorry and made sure you got home safe/Some songs you sing to remind yourself of the people that you’ve been/Well, this one goes out to a guy I never want to be again.” Those are some great closing lines. It leads straight into “Mama,” a touching and effective song. I like the way this one builds. Justin Farren is really good at that, letting a song work its hooks into you, and before you know it, you’re completely immersed in whatever story the song is telling you, feeling whatever emotions the narrator of the song is feeling. “Mama” is followed by “Worthy Of The Sea,” a song with a gentle vibe. Like all the tracks on this release, this song contains some really good lines, such as “And if they all wonder why you’re after what you’re after/No, I for one would say you’re doing something right” and “You’ll learn to sell your time for money and good standing/Among some folks who think their money is worth your time/And you’ll rise to meet their needs no matter how demanding/And start to think those needs are how you are defined.” The album then concludes with “Last Year Was The Best Year,” a pretty song with a nostalgic quality, Justin Farren backing his own vocals on piano. “Some folks love a countdown to nothing/Me, I love a page to turn.”
CD Track List
- A Little Less Time
- Eyes Be Healed
- How’s Your Garden Grow
- Fixer Upper
- There’s No Such Thing As A Bad Day
- My Uncle Bill
- One More Night
- Two Wheel Drive And Japanese
- Mama
- Worthy Of The Sea
- Last Year Was The Best Year
Pretty Free is scheduled to be released on October 23, 2020.
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