Fruit Salad of Songs- Album Review of The Army, The Navy's Fruit for Flies
The ripest fruit in the bowl, The Army, The Navy presents a dazzling color of sounds in their album, Fruit for Flies. Thanks to Apple’s surprisingly improved and updated algorithm, I first got acquainted with the duo through their nonchalant fluttering sound within what ended up being my favorite song from the album, “Persimmon.” It was while I was driving the 405 in Los Angeles. My Discover Music playlist switched up from the usual EDM/Brazilian funk I regularly work out to into the start of a clean acoustic guitar picking, reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.”
It was when the voices began singing, breaking into a dissonant harmonization as satisfying as stepping on a mob of autumn leaves, and I was immediately entranced. The voices, known as Maia Ciambriello and Sasha Goldberg, sing soft yet determinedly, in a song brimming with colorful imagery and unapologetic frankness. The way that their voices complement each other, coupled with simple instrumentation of the guitar, piano, and synth, made me curious to hear the rest of the album. And truly, I felt blessed.
The beginning of Fruit for Flies was another favorite of mine. “Play the Music” is intentionally placed first due to its gradual venture into the musical jungle. We start from just a simple guitar fingering to one voice to the next, unrolling to the rhythm section that whisks us away. Notable mentions are the wispy flight of the saxophone and the dreamy synths that accent the vocal layering of phrases like “and I like the music”. Other songs throughout the album gently dance upon contrasting lyrical themes of confusion and sobering realities of love, through multiple layers of satisfying vocal harmonies of Sasha Goldberg and Maia Ciambriello.
They reflect on the anxieties (“Alexandra”) or the desperate search of a mother mouse for her lost baby (“Vienna in Memoriam”). It’s a great album for a twenty-something trying to make sense of the various attempts of love that one observes throughout a lifetime, and a sweet dessert for those who enjoy unique colorings of voices, whether it be the instrumentation or the singers themselves. My personal recommendation is to listen to it during a hot girl walk during golden hour or spice up a playlist along the likes of Laufey, Mitski, or Sierra Ferrell.