Other Lives Album ‘For Their Love’ Pushes Folk-Rock Boundaries

Other Lives | For Their Love | (ATO)

4 out of 5 stars

The best art gets into your head, transporting you to another place and time. That’s true of movies, photographs, paintings and of course music. Other Lives has always strived to do just that. On this, the Oklahoma band’s first release in five years (and fourth overall) since 2009’s debut, they generally pull it off. 

After a glance at the credits and you’ll know this is no ordinary singer/songwriting outfit. Unlikely instruments such as tubular bells, timpani, bass clarinet, baritone saxophone, vibraphone and harmonium, along with chamber strings and horns, nuzzle up to the usual guitar/bass/keyboards lineup promising, and ultimately delivering, cinematic, dreamy, lush and often hypnotic indie-folk rock. 

Between the strings that enter five seconds into the opening “Sounds of Violence” to the ominous orchestration and voices infused into “Who’s Gonna Love Us?,” and the bold, sweeping Ennio Morricone-styled arrangement with ghostly, wordless female backing vocals that pushes “All Eyes-For Their Love” into soundtrack territory of an imaginary art film, the ambitious Other Lives pushes a variety musical envelopes.  

The creativity, talent and sheer audaciousness of frontman/founder/singer/songwriter Jesse Tabish, who sounds somewhat like a less hyperventilating David Byrne, beats at the heart of all ten songs. Even though the album only runs 37 minutes, the majestic, occasionally grandiose folk-rock makes it seem longer. Each track is so crammed full of intricately layered instruments, interesting if generally obtuse lyrics, unusual song structures (the exotic “Dead Language” has two verses, a bridge and no chorus) and vibrant frequently complex sonic intricacies that you’ll need to replay each one to absorb the full inventive impact. 

Clearly Other Lives does not make music meant for background listening. The intent is far more serious and well, intellectual, but not in a pretentious way. Concepts of love and loss like those in “We Wait” (“Death has come around my mind so often in a sleep. We were dreaming about a winter you won‘t see…You are… always on my mind”) may sound cliché. But combined with the inspired aural and lyrical convolutions, along with Tabish’s yearning, somewhat chilly vocals, this music strives for something more essential and weighty. 

Arguably his reach sometimes exceeds his grasp. But with the captivating For Their Love he’s using all the musical and production tools in his artistic arsenal to expand his band’s approach into an album as compelling and transformational as any you’ll experience in contemporary music.