At Some Point It Stopped<\/em>, in particular \u201cHalloween Lawn Decorations\u201d and \u201cThat One Field Trip to the Planetarium,\u201d which serve as reminders of a childhood autumn, concrete experiences returned to life.<\/p>\nIf\u00a0Almost Home If I\u2019m Still Alive <\/em>is Alexander\u2019s spring set and I Wonder How Many Are Still Alive\u00a0<\/em>represents summer, then\u00a0At Some Point It Stopped\u00a0<\/em>is a mini-album for fall. \u00a0We love recordings that are released during their time, and to hear \u201cSad October Music\u201d in October seems just perfect. \u00a0Water flows, friends converse, a guitar gently weeps. \u00a0While this is not particularly sad \u2013 the track in fact includes laughter \u2013 it does sound melancholic, as by late October even the hardiest of folks must admit that the warm days are over, replaced by a different kind of warmth. \u00a0The fact that this leads into \u201cHalloween Lawn Decorations\u201d is no accident, as the latter track provides something to look forward to; one hears the thickness of the evening before the music even begins, a soft drone with crickets as guest instrumentalists.<\/p>\nThose crickets also appear on the opening track, along with owls, an autumn ecosystem echoing through the speakers. \u00a0One morning the birds are all a-twitter, the next we see flocks migrating south, along with hordes of human retirees. \u00a0The change is gradual, but there is a tipping point, somewhere between pumpkin spice lattes and candy corn, when one realizes it has occurred. Banjo, piano and glockenspiel make \u201cFell in a Hole, Rolled Out of Morning\u201d a gentle wakeup, a bridge between seasons and days.<\/p>\n
The title track is even more autumnal, a quiet ode to endings and implied beginnings. \u00a0In \u201cThat One Field Trip to the Planetarium,\u201d our entire concept of time is expanded, the wonder of the. stars and the down-to-earth memories of the hush before the show, the surreptitious whispering, the crush whose hand we held or wanted to hold, the fast-food stop on the way back. \u00a0Childhood wasn\u2019t all that good, and it wasn\u2019t all that bad; while listening to this music, it all rushes back. \u00a0Alexander\u2019s strength is that of association; his memories spark ours, and help us to embrace this new season with a newfound wistfulness, borne on the backs of all the autumns before. \u00a0(Richard Allen)<\/strong><\/p>\n
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<\/a>Dalton Alexander\u00a0<\/strong>has carved out a comfortable sonic niche in which music and field recordings intertwine and the memories of childhood are specific and sharp. Endearing tracks have included \u201cRequiem for Rubber Bands\u201d and \u201cScholastic Book Fair,\u201d sparking a tactile nostalgia. \u00a0The same holds true on At Some Point It Stopped<\/em>, in particular \u201cHalloween Lawn Decorations\u201d and \u201cThat One Field Trip to the Planetarium,\u201d which serve as reminders of a childhood autumn, concrete experiences returned to life.<\/p>\n