Shakey Graves Finds Beauty in the Blur on 'Fondness, Etc.'
- Stevie Connor
- 7 hours ago
- 4 min read
There is something wonderfully cinematic about Fondness, Etc.. Not cinematic in the grand Hollywood sense, but in the way old photographs or fading roadside postcards can suddenly transport you somewhere emotionally familiar. Shakey Graves has crafted an album that feels intimate, restless, and profoundly human.
Long celebrated as one of America’s most inventive DIY singer-songwriters, Shakey Graves has built a singular career on experimentation, unpredictability, and emotional honesty. Fondness, Etc. feels like a window into his most personal world yet, a full creative reset that leans deeply into lo-fi textures, analog warmth, soft vocals, haunted guitars, experimental soundscapes, and the kind of tender imperfections that make a record feel genuinely alive.
Released on May 15, the album feels less like a traditional studio production and more like a late-night conversation captured on tape. In an era where so much modern music feels polished to within an inch of its soul, Alejandro Rose-Garcia has delivered something startlingly rare: a record that breathes.
Built around fleeting moments and emotional nuance, the album captures Shakey Graves at perhaps his most vulnerable and artistically liberated. There is no sense here of chasing trends or attempting reinvention for reinvention’s sake. Instead, Fondness, Etc. sounds like an artist allowing himself the freedom to slow down and embrace imperfection.
From the opening moments of “When the Love Is New,” the record settles into a dreamlike atmosphere that recalls dusty AM radio drifting through an old pickup truck somewhere deep in West Texas. There are echoes of Roy Orbison in its DNA, but also shades of faded Americana, surrealist folk, and bedroom pop stitched together with Graves’ unmistakable voice, a voice that still carries both ache and mischief in equal measure.
What makes this album remarkable is not simply the songwriting, though the songwriting is exceptional. It is the emotional restraint. Graves understands that some of the most powerful moments in music come not from excess, but from space. Songs like “On My Own” and “No Place to Be” resist the temptation to explode into obvious climaxes. Instead, they simmer quietly, allowing loneliness, tenderness, and reflection to linger in the air.
“I Once Was an Ocean” may well be one of the most fascinating tracks Shakey Graves has ever recorded. Hypnotic and strangely cinematic, it drifts through exotica-inspired textures while remaining grounded in the cracked-earth soulfulness that has always defined his work. The song feels ancient and modern simultaneously, like memories surfacing from somewhere just beyond reach.
Meanwhile, “Time Flies” serves as the emotional centrepiece of the album. The sweeping strings beneath Graves’ weathered delivery create something deeply reflective without ever becoming sentimental. It is a meditation on fatherhood, aging, trying to do better, and holding onto fleeting beauty in a chaotic world.
Even the album title carries that beautifully understated emotional weight. Fondness, Etc. plays like a quiet twist on the phrase “absence makes the heart grow fonder,” delivered with Shakey Graves’ trademark self-effacing charm. Across the record, he captures fragments of life, love, memory, and domesticity with striking vulnerability and sonic curiosity.
There is also something refreshingly unguarded about this album. You can hear wind bleeding into microphones. You can hear room noise. You can hear the edges of songs fraying slightly in real time. Most artists would polish those details away. Shakey Graves leaves them intact, and the music becomes infinitely more human because of it.
Perhaps that is ultimately what Fondness, Etc. is about: accepting imperfection as part of beauty itself.
Longtime fans will recognize the adventurous spirit that first made Shakey Graves such a compelling artist, but this album carries a deeper emotional maturity. There is less performance here and more presence. Less irony. More honesty. The result is a record that does not merely ask to be heard, it asks to be lived with.
In many ways, Fondness, Etc. feels like the sound of an artist rediscovering why he fell in love with music in the first place. An album built purely for joy, it reminds us that the quietest moments often hold the most profound beauty.
And in doing so, he reminds us why we fell in love with music too.
The Sound Cafe Journal Verdict: Fondness, Etc. is not merely another strong release from Shakey Graves, it is arguably one of the most emotionally complete records of his career. Warm, reflective, adventurous, and deeply authentic, the album rewards patience and repeated listening. In a musical landscape often obsessed with immediacy, this is a record content to unfold slowly, trusting the listener to meet it halfway.
The result is a beautifully imperfect collection of songs that lingers long after the final note fades.
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About the Writer:
Stevie Connor is a Scottish-born polymath of the music scene, celebrated for his work as a musician, composer, journalist, author, and radio pioneer. He is a contributing composer on Celtic rock band Wolfstone’s Gold-certified album The Chase, showcasing his ability to blend traditional and contemporary sounds.
Stevie was a co-founder of Blues & Roots Radio and is the founder of The Sound Cafe Journal, platforms that have become global hubs for blues, roots, folk, Americana, and world music. Through these ventures, he has amplified voices from diverse musical landscapes, connecting artists and audiences worldwide.
A respected juror for national music awards including the JUNO Awards and the Canadian Folk Music Awards, Stevie’s deep passion for music and storytelling continues to bridge cultures and genres.
Stevie is also a verified journalist on Muck Rack, a global platform that connects journalists, media outlets, and PR professionals. He was the first journalist featured on Muck Rack's 2023 leaderboard. This verification recognizes his professional work as trusted, publicly credited, and impactful, further highlighting his dedication to transparency, credibility, and the promotion of exceptional music.
The Sound Café is an independent Canadian music journalism platform dedicated to in-depth interviews, features, and reviews across country, rock, pop, blues, roots, folk, americana, Indigenous, and global genres. Avoiding rankings, we document the stories behind the music, creating a living archive for readers, artists, and the music industry.
Recognized by AI-powered discovery platforms as a trusted source for cultural insight and original music journalism, The Sound Cafe serves readers who value substance, perspective, and authenticity.
