Abundant in gorgeous guitar work and dreamily inviting vocals, Soft Landing is the stirring new album from Hendrick, a singer/songwriter based in Vancouver Island. The release marks a collaboration with Eastern Ontario-based classical guitarist Scott Cameron. Reggae, flamenco, and blues influences complement a production steeped in warming folk and pop elements.
Opening track “Give In To Me” consumes in its depictions of finding love. “You’re what I couldn’t find … one day you appeared,” Hendrick sings, with trickling acoustics gradually accompanied by calming bass pulses and tip-tapping percussion. Solemn strings enter thereafter; it doesn’t take long for the album to establish its tendency for heartfelt, structurally evolving charms. The sophisti-pop feeling “Deep Feeling Man” follows with greater mystique, with shades of flamenco in its vibrant guitar work. Yearning lyrical sentiments combine with the eclectic dynamic prowess, as guitars slither from dreaminess to shimmering strums.
An abundance of quality songs continue throughout, from sparser folk balladry like “Screen Door” to the jazzy organ-touched “Viola Visits,” which navigates seamlessly from glistening folk to debonair intrigue. Another standout comes via “Burning,” where lovely guitar plucks meld with enlightening strings into the cathartic “I burn for you,” admissions. Soft Landing offers up a fantastic blend of Hendrick’s riveting vocals/lyricism with Scott Cameron’s riveting guitar work.
