featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
July 19, 2021
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
The process of musical discovery is a crazy thing. I can devote a generous portion of my day to browsing and digging and poking and listening, but these days coming across a terrific new artist only happens a few times per year. Still, it's worth the effort. I know I've come across past records from Emily Duff, but apparently the time wasn't right or my attention had just been diverted by something shiny so that her music had never landed on our playlists.
My loss. It's not that the Queens native hasn't been productive. Duff has been sharing solo material since at least 2015, with highlights including 2017's Maybe in the Morning and 2019's Muscle Shoals-bred Hallelujah Hello. Her next opportunity to catch my attention came with Born in the Ground, released just days before the world was shut down by the pandemic when we were all pretty distracted. That last effort was produced by Eric "Roscoe" Ambel, a name that has haunted the fringes of our kind of music since its inception, as solo act, a guitarist and a producer.
Emily Duff has once again tagged Ambel as a collaborator on Razor Blade Smile. While her work has flirted with elements of rock, punk, soul, gospel and country over the years, her new session digs its heels in the gritty dirt of urban rock 'n country. Songs like the the title track bring to mind the tattooed streets of Duff's NYC homeland more than the gleaming thoroughfares of Music City. Duff spits her acerbic lyrics with an old school sneer: I'm gonna shake the whole damn world / Until the change falls out. With Charlie Giordano's pounded keys and whiplash drums, "Razor Blade Smile" bursts from those same urban clubs that birthed the earliest efforts of Alejandro Escovedo or Chuck Prophet. That fierce punk energy also fuels "Flying Paper Planes", though Ambel's guitar speaks with a telltale twang that earns the song an early alt.country edge.
Also lurking in the alleys of Razor Blade Smile is a strain of 90s power pop a'la Mitch Easter or Dex Romweber, a ragged but ready tunefulness that has largely been bred out of contemporary roots. A serial songwriter, Duff can't disguise the hook that drives "Gimme Back My Love". Galloping rhythms usher in tuneful guitars and sparkling keys: What's been broken here / Might never again be whole. "Another Goodbye" adds a bluesy tone of foreboding, Duff advising her lover to Move along like a song without a bridge.
Just as often, Duff and Ambel apply those retro tools in service of a more contemporary result. Accordion distinguishes the pure country of "Feelin' Alright", one of several tunes complimented by the vocals of the underrated Mary Lee Kortes from Mary Lee's Corvette. Despite her punk roots, Duff was raised on a diet of outlaw country and she never oversings or comes off like an outsider. "Angry to Bed" recalls a younger Rosanne Cash: Angry to bed / Angry to rise / Makes a heart / Hateful, resentful and full of pride. Likewise, her band rings true, the understated outfit strikes a just-right balance between urban rock and country, with Giordano's keys teasing out the soul in Duff's artistry. "Done and Done" spotlights Ambel's reliably expressive guitar lines. With accordion and pedal steel, "Nicotine & Waiting" might be the collection's strongest country cut.
A couple times per year my dedication to musical discovery will lead me to an artist whose rich and diverse back catalogue awaits like a gift. Emily Duff provides that opportunity for those of us who might've overlooked her. Like Jesse Malin or Low Cut Connie's Adam Weiner, she is at home with whatever her band happens to be playing, conversant across genres. Razor Blade Smile adds a strong edge to Duff's undeniable ability, a deep down grit that recalls Lucinda Williams at her hardest, and an unshakable sense that she knows these streets like the back of her hand.
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Tons of new announcements this week at A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster. We'll spotlight just five prominent street dates here, but you can enjoy the rest by selecting the link. For her second record, Alexa Rose gathered in the studio with collaborators such as Will Sexton, Mark Stuart, Matt Ross-Spang and more. Headwaters will appear wherever music matters on September 10 (Big Legal Mess). After a couple solo albums, Edward David Anderson is reconvening Backyard Tire Fire. Black Dirt Blue Sky, an EP, will see the light of day on September 10 as well. Ana Egge is readying her twelfth record (!). A collaboration with Irish singer-songwriter Mick Flannery, Between Us is slated for a September 17 debut (Soundly). Billy Bragg calls his first record in four years his pandemic blues. Million Things That Never Happened is Due October 8 via Cooking Vinyl. After three studio projects on Warner, Nashville's Wild Feathers have moved to the New West label. Alvarado has been scheduled for an October 8 release.
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