All Living Things, <\/em>attempting to give her listeners hope. \u00a0The album comes across as a series of mantras, a meditative exercise perfect for the morning, but suitable for any time of day.<\/p>\nThe linked titles of the opening pieces, \u201cFirst Buds,\u201d \u201cGrounding,\u201d \u201cBloom\u201d and \u201cA Story of Little Birds,\u201d sing of spring. \u00a0The chimes of the opener, rung sparingly, act as a call to worship: not to a church service, but to a walk in the woods, or even in one\u2019s own yard. \u00a0\u201cGrounding\u201d begins to awaken, a bit faster, more engaged. \u00a0One might interpret the title in two ways: the literal, setting bare feet on new soil, or the metaphorical, being grounded in a sense of connection to the natural world. \u00a0As the flute and glockenspiel take center stage in \u201cBloom,\u201d one can sense the flowers unfurling, turning their faces to the sun; and when the tempo increases again in \u201cA Story of Little Birds,\u201d one imagines first flights. \u00a0These pieces are a reminder of the season to come and the possibilities inherent in cycles, both physical and spiritual.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowth Ring\u2019 brings the subject to summer, but also to perspective as one looks back on one\u2019s life and realizes that one has not only survived, but grown. \u00a0A tree\u2019s growth ring also bears a record of experience: floods and droughts, years of storms and years of serenity. \u00a0In contrast, \u201cBlown Leaves\u201d looks forward to fall, but with less trepidation in light of what has come before. \u00a0When one grows acclimates to nature\u2019s cycles, one need not fear transition.<\/p>\n
In the closing triptych, Park Jiha does not turn to winter, as expected, save in a symbolic sense. \u00a0The closing pieces are intended to reflect the rather dour sounding \u201cdecline to death,\u201d but when paired with \u201cThe Eternal Path,\u201d death is only a spoke in the cycle. \u00a0In the same way as The Gleam\u00a0<\/em>traveled from dawn until dusk, prefacing another dawn,\u00a0All Living Things\u00a0<\/em>travels from youth to old age, prefacing eternity: a solace and an encouragement. \u00a0(Richard Allen)<\/strong><\/p>\n
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<\/a>Park Jiha<\/strong>\u2018s last album,\u00a0The Gleam<\/em>, was experimental in tone, focusing on permutations of light. \u00a0A unique combination of traditional Korean instruments: piri, saenghwang, yanggeum<\/em> and glockenspiel, opened new sonic worlds to the listener, like blinds being opened to the sun. \u00a0Despite sharing a similar sonic palette, \u00a0All Living Things\u00a0<\/em>is calmer in tone, an ode to the cycles of the natural world. \u00a0The addition of electronics has a soothing effect, sloughing off the rougher edges. \u00a0Yet both releases share an engaging positivity. \u00a0The artist seeks the connections in\u00a0All Living Things, <\/em>attempting to give her listeners hope. \u00a0The album comes across as a series of mantras, a meditative exercise perfect for the morning, but suitable for any time of day.<\/p>\n