For some reason, many In One Wind songs make me think about the very last scene of the movie, "Castaway," where Tom Hanks' character is standing at that intersection of gravel roads and he's got to choose where he's going to go next. The odds-on hunch is that he's going to head back to the farmhouse and see where that gets him, but you can't really say with any certainty - as the scene cuts to black - what he's surely going to do. What's also not certain is how long he's going to stand there contemplating his next move. It could be while. He could stand there and drink it all in, stew with the decision for some time before finally leaning in one direction and acting on it. He could be waiting for that inner voice to cease the static, to decipher the gibberish and to arrive at some kind of clarity. He could just sit down and take in the nice day that's around him. He could stop to really enjoy how the day looks, smells and tastes. Those roadsides would be filled with scared, living things and if he were to stand quietly enough for a long enough time, they'll pop out and make themselves viewable. The wind could make itself a physical being, even if just by touch. There would be a great amount of proof that he was not alone, that he doesn't need to choose anything that he doesn't want to choose, just to fulfill some internal need to feel like he's enriched, that he's where he should be.
Singer/guitarist Angelo Spagnolo, vocalist/keyboardist Mallory Glaser, bassist Robert Lundberg, multi-reedist Steven Lugerner and drummer Max Jaffe write music that lets us swim in these big ideas of presence and context. With their highly orchestrated and understated approach to folk and jazz-ish music, In One Wind makes a beautifully contemplative somberness. It's a sensation that pits a person between the tangles of the life they're living and the one that could be out there for them. The one that they're knee-deep in makes sense and the one that could be waiting out there for them - however far out there it may be - makes sense too. One came about through obvious choices and the other could be had if different choices were made. It really all comes down to listening to the crazy, jabbering breezes might be whispering into your ears or hinting at with some seductive kisses to the cheeks and neck.
As Spagnolo sings here:
"Last night backed up a couple of steps
Guilt rids the mind of a common yesterday
'Cause what I found out yesterday
Is that we can't know what might come of this all
So I'll walk on what seems to be."