Search - Mary Gauthier :: The Foundling

Sad, Haunting, Beautiful

Kristopher Bell | Seattle, WA | 07/20/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Foundling starts with Mary Gauthier's sorrowful acapella moan "A foundling, a foundling, looking for home. Wanders through darkness and travels alone."



And thus sets the tone for the rest of The Foundling, a 13-song opus dedicated to Gauthier's childhood as an adoptee and her adulthood search for her real mother. This is sad music to its core: the music itself is subdued, languid and echoey, like it was recorded in a dark, empty, cold room, underscoring the loss that Gauthier undeniably felt. Minor keys are plentiful. And the words are heart-wrenching: snippets such as "this night has no ended/this darkness no ending/descending descending/mama here, mama gone" illustrate the depths of Gauthier's pain, and make this listener glad he's not in such anguish. In one word, this album is forlorn.



And yet despite having a singular subject, The Foundling hits many different notes, and is beautiful to boot. Gauthier skips across several different styles, from traditional guitar folk to zydeco (she IS from New Orleans) to rock (almost), and does so with confidence and skill. Musically, the album is stellar, especially the lovely fiddle work. And lyrically, there are moments that almost seem like hope or strength: "but I still believe in love" over and over again in "The Orphan King." The occasional lifting fiddle line hints at something sunnier.



But the album never gets there. There's no escaping that this is a sad country album with no happy ending. This might upset some people, but from this reviewer's perspective, facing the unflinching truth is one way to make great art in this world. And as a lover of art, I welcome albums like this into my life, if only to give me a glimpse into something I myself will never experience."