The quiet corners of the second-hand bookstore inside the 800-castle Culzean have a noticeboard that displays remnants of lives once lived notes, photographs, letters, and postcards left between pages, each never to be told. These lens fragments of human existence inspired Things Found In Books, Yvonne Lyon and Boo Hewerdine's collaborative comeback album.
This heartfelt collection of 13 songs memorializes books and other ephemera by weaving both personal and imagined narratives into a beautiful composition. It's an album that breathes a warm invitation in the listener to come into its realm; this cherished and warm album holds many memories and induces more through music. Regardless, Yvonne Lyon who hails from the UK is one of the most powerful singer-songwriters, while Boo Hewerdine is an Ivor Novello-nominated Lord.
Truly, an experience stacked with personal emotion. But it has never ceased to be so perfectly relatable, I feel. The two join together in creating an enviable and cohesive collection of their style that oscillates between folk and storytelling/Shakespearean Instrumentation. It moves through the reminiscence of the past, the set weight of nostalgia associated with it, and the beauty and charm of things forgotten. Tracks like "Things Found In Books" and “Mario and Sydney are the reflection of emotions of nostalgia and relics of previous eras, while “Salvador Dali And Me” gives a feeling of sheer joy for cryptic stories being discovered. Arrangements are intimate yet grand enough for breathing space and resonation, emoting loudly in calmness.
The warm acoustic shimmer intermixed with minimal production is how the album arrives musically. This is not an "album," so to speak; rather, Things Found In Books is a confections love letter to memory, a beautiful version of a sonic scrapbook of lives once lived and stories yet to be told. Lyon's dreamy vocals merge with Hewerdine's longstanding songwriting to create an aural terrain that is somber yet uplifting. With intricate guitar work, soft melodies from the piano, and atmospheric strings, this album reaches a timeless quality, perfect for quiet reflection.
What makes Things Found In Books so special is it connects the listener to that which is difficult to discern: the passing of time, the stories lying in plain sight, and, ultimately, the shared human experience. Just as with a well-worn book passed from hand to hand, this album has a history that is both highly personal and especially open to interpretation. And as we bourgeon through our lives, collecting moments and depositing traces of ourselves behind, Lyon and Hewerdine remind us that even the smallest fragments can muffle meaning.