A boozing rock & roll band watches swaying palms and outbound ships underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. A drifter floats through the stratosphere, longing for his home planet’s familiarity. Such are the vignettes offered by local songwriting fixture Ethan Azarian on Hawaii, the seventh solo release under the folk-focused Austinite’s belt. Blending his singular, stratospheric imagination with an Earthbound vulnerability, Azarian lays bare the ties that bind the natural world to messier human passions. With poignant piano chords provided by his son Francis (who also designed the CD’s sunset-splashed cover art), opening offer “The River” finds common ground between water’s rush and our capricious human psyche: “The river run wild, river run deep/ Just like my thoughts, all mixed together,” and later, “I want to love, I want to rage/ I want to be a sinner and a saint.” A fingerpicked title track pays homage to island beauty, with pedal steel striking a balance between Hawaiian soundscapes and country twang. Like a human alarm clock, Azarian’s lone-wolf howl cuts through impressionistic imagery, reminding us to cherish our short time on Earth.
Ethan Azarian
Hawaii
This article appears in February 2 • 2024.