MP3: Revel

Oh how long
Oh how long
Oh how long
Have you been waiting on some
Revelation

We all desire change. For justice, for peace, for reconciliation, for joy. We desire it for our home, our community, our world. And it’s so easy to lose hope because none of us can love the world, but only our neighbor. It’s as if you’re a painter in a valley. You find the perfect spot and settle in. But as you ready your palette and canvas, a fog rolls over the ridge, surrounding you, until all that you can see is a single drop of dew resting on the blade of grass before you. Your breath slows. Your hands calm. Your eyes follow each reflection, each prism, each bend. An intimate portrait that only you could behold. And as your final stroke lifts, so does the fog. The warming sun fills the valley, a trillion droplets breaking its light. And you see, standing before a shimmering spectacle, that you could never hope to love all until you learned to love one. In the end, it is us who need to change. And we require more patience than the world.

It comes no surprise to me that Bootstraps began as an endeavor to provide a soundtrack to a film. Jordan Beckett’s voice shares a likeness to Ray LaMontagne’s husky howl and the accompaniment of his friends Nathan Warkentin and David Quon provides a crashing anthem to his pensive, acoustic reflections. Their songs address the captive loneliness that sets in as the fog surrounds California’s coastal towns. Often hushed and delicate, with soft strums and tinkling piano, these songs surprisingly rise from the mist with pounding choruses and crashes. Their intimate debut album has recently been remixed and reissued, now available for download.

Artist: Bootstraps
Photographer: Danielle Hughson

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