One of the lovier, naturalistic and harmonious albums to come out this fall season – and to be released by reputed indie label In Music We Trust’s formidable, 40-record catalog – is Ave Trujillo, the new solo record by singer/songwriter Freddy Trujillo. (“Ave” translates to “Hail” in Latin but “bird” in Spanish.) The bolero-style roots record also finds the former bassist for Richmond Fontaine and The Delines exploring Mexican musical traditions. Born in Simi Valley, California, Trujillo is now based in Portland, Oregon.
In this installment of Pet Sounds that lives up to the name of the series more than another, the solo musician with two decades of experience generously details his affection for birds and the close attention he pays to them – instead of, say, his cell phone – via a song-by-song reflection of Ave Trujillo. One is reminded not only of other spirit-filled roots music but also of classic transcendentalist American writers/philosophers Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose work emphasized communing with nature.
We cannot thank Trujillo, In Music We Trust and founder Alex Steininger enough for what is the most delightful and thorough track-by-track feature The Bad Penny has ever published.
