Within its surprisingly diverse mix of urban and appalachian culture, Ohio boasts one of the most surprising indie folk and rock scenes in the Midwest. In the past couple decades, bands such as Southeast Engine, Old Hundred, and SaintSeneca have represented the complex realities of Ohio’s special pocket of American living.
Enter Adam Remnant: the former lead songwriter of Southeast Engine. Within two decades in the scene, Remnant has been a standout voice in the collective call of Ohio indiefolk. His work with Southeast Engine resulted in a signing with Misra Records (publisher of popular acts such as Destroyer and Phosphorescent) that led to a tour across the U.S.
Since then, Remnant has been pursuing a solo career amidst life’s various responsibilities. His latest record, Big Doors, is his second in his solo career, and it brings with it new approaches for him in both concept and sound.
The album is split into two halves that mirror each other sonically and thematically, beginning with “Here” and “Hereafter” respectively. These songs — along with a few other purely instrumental cuts — help Remnant to achieve his goal of making the album sound like its own liminal space for the listener. The dream-like synth passages are all about building space for reflecting and transition.
The instrumental tracks play an important role in preparing the listener for the longer, more climactic cuts on each half. An essential climactic moment is the title track, “Big Doors.”
Mimicking the atmosphere of the previous tracks, the song opens with some ghostly synth passages before cascading into an explosion of bass, drums, and transcendent vocal melodies. From here, Remnant walks the listener through a journey with his reflective lyricism on his decision to remain content within the whirlwinds of American capitalism.
“In my mind, there’s an interrogation of the U.S. capitalist system that feeds us the American dream and the accompanying religious message to achieve salvation or happiness via a belief system,” says Remnant. “The album is discovering hope by pivoting back to material reality, appreciating what and who is right in front of you rather than chasing a dream.”
After the first half of the album wraps up, the second half leads the listener to the heavy-hitting closer, “Keys to the Kingdom.” With religious and apocalyptic lyricism, this song takes a sweeping look at a modern, anxious America and finds peace within it. Remnant’s vocal performance is excellent, bringing both earnest determination and genuine exhaustion simultaneously. At nine minutes in length, this is the closer this album deserves.
With its ruminations on capitalism and interconnected approach to songwriting, Big Doors is an impressive release within Remnant’s solo career. It’s clear he has plenty left to give, as he and his producer, Jon Helm, have already begun work on another project.
“The songs [will] deal with themes of memory, nostalgia, time, capitalism, and reconciling our sort of dystopian present with a past that held the potential for brighter alternate timelines,” Remnant states.
With some of these themes being parallel to Big Doors, Adam Remnant offers a modern voice with sonic depth, and one with more exciting things on the horizon.
