Twentythree (Tristan Prettyman) #NNR6
For our part, when we think of folk music, the first thing that comes to mind is its ability, with just a guitar (or almost), to give people a voice through songs that are often intimate in nature (yes, yes, the lone cowboy by the campfire isn’t far off) but that have a truly universal appeal. So, let’s just say it right off the bat: like many people, we grew up listening to folk music that was rarely country, more often rock, pop, or bluesy, with artists ranging, over the years, from Bob Dylan to Ani DiFranco, including Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Shania Twain, Tracy Chapman, Norah Jones, Colbie Caillat, and Jewel, not to mention the indispensable Suzanne Vega.
But the thing is, the world of folk belongs to everyone, yet it’s not easy to carve out a place for yourself in it, and what we love more than anything is sincerity, energy, everything that makes up the talent of Tristan Prettyman, a young singer-songwriter from the world of California surfing, who picked up the guitar in the 2000s to paint a picture of the disillusionments of entering adulthood. At just 23 years old, displaying maturity in both her lyrics and harmonies, the young artist doesn’t set out on this upcoming album, Twentythree, to come across as cool or laid-back; she simply aims to convey her feelings with disarming simplicity and ease, a quality that could have made this a defining album for a generation. Her voice, by turns dynamic and fragile, and her seemingly accessible compositions still strike a chord more than twenty years later, because they speak of a world before Instagram, where artists unashamedly expressed their feelings and questioned themselves without fear of judgment from others.
The press often talks about the great albums that change the course of music history, but less often about those that quietly stay with us for years. Twentythree, however, belongs to that second category, and proves to be deeply human. That’s why, as we dug through our record collection, we chose to feature it in this issue of No November Rain, because Tristan Prettyman will brighten your day in just a few minutes, and you’ll thank us for bringing it back into the spotlight. Because many will still refuse to admit it as they get older, but it feels so good to have someone who can put into words what you’re feeling when you’re, in a way, discovering the world on your own. All we wish for the younger generation is that they’ll ditch the TikTok videos that tell you what to feel and what to think, and give these unvarnished artists a listen with an open mind. And why not start with Tristan Prettyman’s Twentythree, a top-notch album you should check out right away if you haven’t already. An early-career album, a far cry from her shift toward a more electric pop sound and the artist’s better-known hits from the following decade. Twentythree remains a hidden gem, despite the duet on “Shy That Way” with Jason Mraz (who would become her partner for several years) and the support of composer and guitarist Jesse Harris (known for his work with Norah Jones), featuring a few tracks that were well-received by critics (“Love, Love, Love” or "Simple as it should be").
What we loved in 2005 when it came out was discovering this young woman from San Diego through word of mouth, and the irresistible urge to pop the record into our ears and head out on foot to get some fresh air, far from the noise and the foul stench of the world around us, not necessarily far away, but in our very own “corner of the world,” that secret spot where we’re not ashamed to pull out our sketchbook for our everyday journeys. From up there, “the little man on his hill would come and gaze at them in peace,” as our very own Francis Cabrel sang...
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