by Philip Moss

The period of self-isolation that has been imposed across pretty much the whole of the globe has left everyone in varying mental states. Having your freedom or liberty evoked certainly puts things   into perspective – even when you know it is for a greater good. So to self-impose that isolation would seem a might bizarre thing to do, but for Indiana based songwriter, Peter Oren, the results of his time alone at his Nashville cabin last year have resulted in a quite sublime collection of thoughtful songwriting.

Across the album, various themes weave in and out – from the mortality of the Curtis Stigers-evoking In Line To Die, to the metaphorical herding of society on the title track and Fences Ranchers and Cattle Prods. But Oren’s most certainly got an itch too – mobile phone technology and the algorithms of social media – which he scratches deep into on Whole World. While the song is steeped in country traditions, his life is firmly immersed in the now – and semantically the song could not be of any other time – ‘I’ve got the whole world in my hands / I’ve got not plans as I scroll and scan / Waiting for the page to load, as my connection slows / There are screens even in my dreams… I skip the essay expose, for memes and videos of dogs doing human things / Who could’a seen it, who would’a known we’d have WIFI in hell?’

This, his third record, is also the first time he’s overseen almost the entire process alone – having spent the record’s advance on equipment. And it’s certainly a justified decision. The finest example of his astute ear for arrangement and production is Free – a spacious, rousing number that could be filed next to Damien Jurado’s The Horizon Just Laughed in terms of scope.

So if you’re looking for a little headspace during this quite unusual of times, Peter Oren has carved out a beautiful little corner of the world – it’s called The Greener Pasture – and it makes for a lovely escape.

Secret Meeting score: 80

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