Avery Hill presents an intimate set of stories showcasing the act of remembering.
Portland-based singer-songwriter Avery Hill’s sophomore full-length album, “The One Who Remembers”, arrives nine years after “Dreams & Ghosts: A Family Album” (2015). Hill had been a teacher in classrooms across Germany, Vermont, Washington, and Oregon prior to her debut. Since then, a lot has happened: she got married in 2015 and discovered a love for teaching music, balancing her career with independent touring. “I gave birth to my son, Oscar, in 2018, and anyone who is a parent will tell you how much that really turns your life upside-down.” The pandemic further complicated Avery’s life, revealing cracks in her marriage.
In September 2020, amidst the smoke from wildfires and the uncertainty of the pandemic, Hill and her husband separated. She found not just solace, but strength, in the songs she had written. “On one level, they’re just stories about my childhood experiences and relationships, but I realised that—on the other side of all this change—I needed to put these songs to press to capture this moment in my life,” she reflects.
“The One Who Remembers” comprises eight songs and 4 interludes – each an echo from Hill’s past. The album begins with the title track which enters on a bed of organ and acoustic guitar on which Hill’s narrator tells of being an old soul who observes everything through history. The chorus “I am no storm chaser, I am no heartbreakers, I am only the one who remembers” highlights the implied objectivity of the observer. ‘The Nest’ meanwhile leads on acoustic and accordion remembering a lost loved one for whom Hill is experiencing the world since they left it. Later the song contemplates parting and the afterlife. It closes with a series of light glockenspiel notes.
The first interlude ‘Echo No 1 Lullaby’ takes in the rocking of a cradle, a hummed lullaby and baby sounds. The third song proper ‘Harmonies In The Hallway’ focuses on happy childhood memories with “I hear harmonies in the hallway as I fall asleep at night”. The sense of remembered contentment is reflected in the soft organ accompaniment and the harmonies in the chorus.
‘Echo No 2 – Jennies’ Kitchen’ is bedded on the sound of an old-time radio with the noises of a kitchen and sets the scene for the ‘The Spoon Jar’ an affectionate tale of a female ancestor who has home, family and community at the heart of her life and in some ways, Hill seeks to emulate her. She flips history and applies the same strand of thought to herself and a daughter. The spoon jar of the title is at the centre of family table. The melody sits on top pf an intimate piano and guitar accompaniment.
‘The Potholder’ which follows also features acoustic guitar and piano, but they are joined by a sweet violin which solos in the spaces of the tale of family – the potholder in question is made by a child but remains part of the story through their adulthood and the loss of the original recipient.
The next interlude ‘Echo No 3 West Meadow Beach’ is dominated by the sounds of the ocean but we also hear the calls of seagulls and, more faintly, people’s voices. It takes us into ‘The Walk Through The Door’ a musing on life’s changes- starting with the thoughts of a mother a carrying her child. It leads into thoughts of the child’s growth and eventual fledging.
The final interlude ‘Echo No 4 First Flight’ is a conversation involving a young man recalling his first flight as an Airforce pilot just prior to the Korean War. The song that follows ‘The Good That I Can Do’ is the bones of an imaginary conversation mixed with recollections between Hill and likely one of her grandfathers on differing perceptions linked to living a life of doing the best they can for themselves and for others. What that may be may differ, but the intent is the same.
The closer and finale ‘Roll Down The River’ sets life as a river down which Hill and those near to her journey from where it passes her house on to the sea, acknowledging rocky points along the way. The song is enhanced by a violin joining after the first chorus and subsequent uplifting harmonies.
Hill’s tales of home, family remembered past and imagined future provide a loving and intimate portrait of life in which , despite her recent difficulties she remains focused on the positive.
