Forming A Planet
Artist; Routine Homecoming 
Label: ©2007 independent
 
Upon first listening to this homegrown release from Ben Nester, who uses Routine Homecoming as his musing template, I was immediately drawn to the sparseness of the overall sound.  This is sublime folk-bluegrass music.  There is no percussion, but strong songwriting.  
 
It is hard not to draw comparisons here.  I closed my eyes at points through multiple listens and swore I was listening to Sufjan Stevens.  I think this is a good comparison.
 
Lyrically, Ben Nester reflects on life around him in New Hampshire. The beauty and simplicity of that life and family breathe through in the title track, “Forming A Planet”:

     Asleep under the sheets of night, cold and sly
     Her face is flushed in rest of righteousness
     Covet our time and taste of a kiss that I can’t get
 
     Routine days, fall leaves, meals made at home
     Walk to the stables and see winter is cold
     Back now again to bed, cuddle close
 
     A planet forms in space
     Signs of life are here
     A storm of love it builds and builds
 
He appears to heavily reflect on the wonder of parenthood (“A Baby,” “Strange Hands,” “Objects of Home,” & “Men Get Mad”), the necessity of having to work in a city (“Daddy Became a Pusher”), and the cycle of life (“God and the Saddest Song”).
 
Haunting lyrics create a strong painting in this reviewer’s mind on the song “Recently”:

     Recently I visited home 
     Where a ghost of mother lives all alone
     The moment I walked in after years of being gone
     The warmth of a child came to mind
 
     Depression glass and quilts of grain
     Made with hands and disorders wane
     Ghosts of the preachers still remain
     Nights filled with fire and shine…
 
     Years of rain turn bricks to the pile 
     Ghosts still walk that holy mile
     From home to the church and back again
     They pray to God and ask forgiveness of sin
 
This is an album that you can sit on a porch, rocking in a chair with your beverage of choice, and absorb the life that God gives you.  I definitely hope to hear more from his neck of the woods.
 
thecannyshark