Despite the fact that it includes the track “Winter, Don’t Let Go,” For Those Who Stay is very much an album of spring. More specifically, it’s about the emergence into spring after a long winter, which has been chronicled month by month, track by track by Hollie Kenniff, The first two singles appeared in December, the second two in January (including the winter track), followed by one in February, one in early March, and finally the full eleven track album the first week of spring. We have been anxiously awaiting this set (ironically, one track is titled, “The World Can Wait”), whose tracks are now presented in a different order, telling a complete story, although we also appreciated the chapter-by-chapter reveal.
The original version of “Love, Lightness” appeared on For LA, Vol. 1, which reminds us of how much difference a year can make. As the starting point of the album, “Love, Lightness (Light Version)” serves as a subtle reminder that peace is often hard won. The music bears no trace of the physical and emotional scars of the LA wildfires, but its presence is a healing balm, leading to “Dayrise,” whose very title sings of new beginnings and renewed hope. Kenniff is in fine form, soft and encouraging, sharing but a tendril of voice.
The title can be interpreted in multiple ways: for those who stay in an area wracked by disasters natural and human-made; for those who stay in relationships, fighting through the difficult times; for those who stay the course, and continue to believe in goodness and light. The music unfolds like the petals of spring or a pair of arms, starting to trust again. “At Every Moment and in Every Place” seems to reference a quote from Thomas Merton, but one need not look up the quote to intuit grace, embedded in a love for the natural world, a perennial theme of Kenniff’s work.
The press release describes the set as “perfect for those in-between moments.” As Kenniff writes, “The World Can Wait.” The challenge is to find such moments and to allow them to bloom rather than rushing headfirst into the next big thing. In the track of the same name, the piano notes are patient, none running into each other, each secure in its own space. “Come What May” hearkens back to Shakespeare: “Come what come may, time and the hour runs through the roughest day” ~ sweet surrender that anticipates better days to come.
As one might expect, the contrast between “Winter, Don’t Let Go” and “Gentle Dawn” prompts the album’s most poignant emotions. The first is melancholic, especially in its second half, exuding a love for stasis and stillness; the second is an invitation to leave one set of emotions behind and to embrace another. Whatever the trauma: fire, argument, societal upheaval, we cannot dwell there forever, not when inner peace beckons and renewal awaits. (Richard Allen)
a closer listen 