Photo Credit: Rachel Deeb
The Lumineers’ co-founder, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Jeremiah Fraites has released a new solo album, adaptly titled Piano Piano 2, via Dualtone Records/Mercury KX. Available to stream in full, the latest addition to the musician’s 2021 debut builds off piano-centered compositions backed by strings for a movie-like effect that capitalizes on Fraites’ ability to sonically shift the mood and melody at the tap of a finger.
Instead of positioning his solo follow-up as an expansion on the initial set, Piano Piano 2 is an evolution of Fraites’ artistry as he builds layers like oil on canvas, instrumental spurts of synth, percussion, acoustic guitar, and spoken-word expression. “Piano is my all-time favorite instrument,” stated Fraites. “Think of this album as a soundtrack for a movie that hasn’t been made yet.”
Piano Piano 2 was recorded at various studios worldwide, captured in segments in tangent with Lumineer tour stops. Whereas the initial set was tracked at home in the artist’s living room, the new one functioned as a postcard, gathering stamps from Rio de Janeiro, Boston, Denver, and the Catskill Mountains.
Mainly featured on upright piano for his debut, Fraites used seven different variations of his trusted favorite to extract different tones and timbres, intermixed with an essence of home, with overlays of audio snippets of his kids at play, phone calls with his wife, and borrowed dialogue from 1980s home video, expanding on the human element.
Stream the full LP below, and watch the official music video for the first single, “No Surprises,” featuring Gregory Alan Isakov.
Track Listing:
- Ghosts
- Spirals
- Champagne
- Spiders
- Rio
- Welcome
- Extra Lives
- Snow Falling
- Pluck
- No Surprises