Abby Webster – Livin’ By The Water (2024)
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3| September 23, 2024 at 11:32 pm
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HMFICLocal Scene: Austin, TXRank: FlurryPoints: 21019Livin’ By The Water by Abby Webster has come onto my radar via the Spotify algorithm and after listening to it on repeat for about a week, I think it’s excellent. Released on August 16th, I first heard the single “Calliope” back in March and it was in frequent rotation for me throughout the Spring. At the time I was listening to a lot of underground indie stuff because I had just been at SXSW, and I guess Spotify decided to introduce me to a songwriter that I really like, for the first time in a while.
This record has a country twang, an indie darling sentiment, with hints of classic rock and country music that just hits straight down the middle for me. On the whole it’s about this free, almost-beatnik lifestyle that involves listening to Cat Stevens, drinking lots of beer, and frequently camping in the woods. In the meantime, encountering both physical and emotional demons, and coming to terms with it all along the way.
“Calliope” is an obvious standout that was released as the first single, and was clearly a good choice for that. Signifying love and heartbreak, while also recognizing her own contributions to the demise, alongside an utter existential feeling about it all. The imagery of being in nature and collecting flowers makes it feel very grounded to my ears, and helps to give the song a physical presence.
The whole album has this presence, something like a mountainous campground on an early autumn evening, as we accompany Abby on a bluegrass-tinged voyage through easygoing and simultaneously difficult experiences. Abby finds meaning in the mundane in a way that is whimsical and relatable for anybody who has spent time exploring out in the sticks while also consuming alcohol and/or marijuana and/or psychedelics.
Lyrically, “Camping” is a ton of fun, and also brings some of the most vivid imagery on the record. In her most country-twang voice that we hear on this album, she sings of alien, bears, and thorn encounters while camping in a tent. I can picture this existential dread out there in the woods, drunk and paranoid on some possibly nonexistent things. There is no clarity offered, just this sense of existential dread.
Also hear “Sorry”, notably the guitar intro which is a nod to Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon” — intentional or not (I’m guessing intentional).
“River Rats” is my current favorite song on the album, because like “Calliope” it encompasses all of the album’s themes. This time, though, it tells a nostalgic story of friendship and growing up. It’s very accessible and also thoughtful.
Anyway, if you can’t tell, I very much like this album. Somehow it also reminds me of Billy Strings and the Grateful Dead, for that rawness and embracing of a lifestyle that some people might frown upon, but can be liberating in its own way. I think I’ve gone on about it enough. Let me know what you think if you check it out!
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