When We Were Bears the debut from Milwaukee composer Alicia Rytlewski is a collection of songs and piano-based instrumentals ripe for the season. Pastoral melodies, haunting cello passages and rare vocals add up to a rich album. In pieces like Soil Fertility—the third movement from the Three Sisters Farms Suite and The Snow Dances, subtle layers unfold with repeated listenings reminiscent of Robyn Hitchcock’s classic album I Often Dream of Trains with a side of George Winston. Rich clusters of chords give way to tinkling fragments of melody.
Wrapped in autumnal moods and with titles that often reference nature, this may easily be considered a subtle concept album. Rytlewski invested nine years in this record. Here’s hoping for a follow up.