Hendrick’s Soft Landing lingers in the in-between—somewhere between bedroom folk and barroom confessional, between quiet restraint and emotional unraveling. The Vancouver Island singer-songwriter favors a speak-singing delivery that feels conversational but never casual, finding weight in the smallest inflections. His voice is shadowed at every turn by the intricate fretwork of Scott Cameron, an accomplished classical guitarist from Eastern Ontario, whose playing stitches elements of flamenco, reggae, and blues into the fabric of these songs.
The record leans into its DIY roots, its lo-fi aesthetic less a limitation than a deliberate choice. The rhythm section is understated but effective, pushing dynamics in places like the climax of "Give In To Me" or the pulsing undercurrent of "Deep Feeling Man." But make no mistake—this is a guitar-and-voice affair, and everything else is set dressing.
On "The Fairy," one of the album’s more radio-friendly moments, Hendrick taps into a loose, ‘90s alt-folk energy that recalls the jangly angst of the Violent Femmes or The Cranberries. "Buried Words" flirts with a different kind of nostalgia, weaving synthetic orchestral flourishes into its melancholic drift. There are moments of warmth, too—the delicate piano touches on "Don't Let It Rain Here" and "Chock Full Of Love" add softness to the album’s edges, while "Viola Visits" lightens the mood entirely. Then there’s "I'm Not Sorry," a jam band detour that feels like a deep exhale, a moment of unguarded looseness.
At times, Soft Landing feels almost weightless, its homespun production lending it a ghostly, transient quality. The virtual instruments, the rough edges—they don’t take away from the album’s emotional core. If anything, they reinforce it. It’s a record that doesn’t fuss over polish, because it doesn’t need to. The songs speak for themselves.
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