From the chunky piano in Boundaries‘ opening track, you know that Steev Richter is going to take you to new places. (And if you listened to Adobe & Teardrops Episode 49, you heard “The First Time I Tried To Win.”) This is Richter’s third and it demonstrates his versatility: his last EP Beloved is a zen-like exploration of cosmic well-being. By contrast, Boundaries is jagged and neurotic — the yang to Beloved‘s yin.
For the most part, Boundaries hews to an old-school style — particularly the duet on “Better You Than Me,” which dives into traditional country fare. Richter’s brilliance comes from the way he subverts his three chords and the truth into something a little more pointed, more uncomfortable, then what you’re used to — no matter the chord structures supporting the lyrics. Boundaries is interested in that push-pull in the aftermath of a breakup — you want to leave the person, but you also miss them unbearably. That ambivalence is the bitter pill in Richter’s music — but he adds a lot of sugar to make it go down easier.
Steev Richter — Bandcamp
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