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There are break‐up records, and then there are break‐up records. Due for release on January 9th through City Slang, 'Idealistic Animals' is a break‐up record, but it’s not the kind that finds 28‐year‐old Cheri MacNeil, the woman behind the artful, charming Dear Reader, weeping about a cold-hearted cheat. Instead it’s a break‐up record with religion.
The unique set of circumstances behind the album’s genesis lends the record an unusual air of cynicism and candour that has allowed her to name each song after an animal, as though the album is a 21st Century take on Aesop’s Fables, and you can download ‘Bear (Young’s Done In)’ here: link
In her earlier years MacNeil devoted her life to her faith in a manner that she admits was close to fanatical, but, at the start of her twenties, doubts started to creep in. Some of these were hinted at on Dear Reader’s debut album, ‘Replace Why With Funny’. But, on Dear Reader’s follow‐up, MacNeil examines and responds to the fallout that’s followed the loss of her belief system in an unusually transparent fashion, expressed with an instantly recognisable blend of heart‐on‐the‐sleeve honesty, fanciful poetry and winningly crafted songwriting.
'Idealistic Animals' addresses grand themes in simple terms: the search for a structure that can fill the void left behind after the loss of fundamental beliefs, the random nature of our existence, and the fact that, when push comes to shove, there’s little separating humanity from the rest of the animal kingdom.
Pulling in the skills of musicians from Calexico’s Martin Wenk to her sound engineer’s parents and enlisting the inestimable production skills of Brent Knopf (Ramona Falls, ex‐Menomena), 'Idealistic Animals' was recorded over 2 weeks in Portland.
The result is a record that somehow combines the classics and the contemporary, from the candour of Joni Mitchell and the sweet eccentricity of Kate Bush to the refined simplicity of Leslie Feist and the inventive vocal clarity of St Vincent. Given that MacNeil cheerfully admits that she rarely listens to music, this is an even greater achievement. But this has also contributed to the unusual qualities that the record displays: Dear Reader don’t chase prevailing trends or jump bandwagons. They just speak from the heart.
'Idealistic Animals' tracklisting:
1. FOX (Take Your Chances)
2. MONKEY (You Can Go Home)
3. MOLE (Mole)
4. EARTHWORM (All Hail Our Ailing Mother)
5. GIRAFFE (What's Wrong With Us)
6. MAN (Idealistic Animals)
7. CAMEL (Not Black or White but Camel)
8. WHALE (BooHoo)
9. BEAR (Young's Done In)
10. ELEPHANT (Hearter)
11. KITE (Soon We'll Light Up)
Idealistic Animals is released on January 9th through City Slang.