featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
September 2, 2021
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
Sadly, it seems August was accidentally made the length of two months. Good news is that the influx of new releases was also enough for two months' listening. Nevertheless, we'll continue our monthly compulsion to select the five (5) albums that defined the past thirty days for us. We'll present these in order of appearance:
WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT AUGUST?!!
- Them Coulee Boys, Namesake (TCB, Aug 6)
- Elijah Ocean, Born Blue (Ocean, Aug 13)
- James McMurtry, The Horses and the Hounds (New West, Aug 20)
- Suzanne Santo, Yard Sale (Soundly, Aug 27)
- Jason Eady, To the Passage of Time (Old Guitar, Aug 27)
August was such a crowded month, and I never really met my review quota as evidenced by the fact that absolutely none of the albums listed above were given formal review attention in these pages. It's also a month that was characterized by several more high-profile releases. But I tend to spend my review attention on records that might otherwise be overlooked. Even in the midst of more prominent names like Sturgill, Eady and McMurtry (artists who, let's face it, won't benefit terribly from a R&B spotlight), I'd like to draw your attention to Suzanne Santo.
Even though you might not immediately recognize her name, Santo has dwelt between the pages of R&B at least since 2010, when she and Benjamin Jaffe released their first of three projects 'neath the Honeyhoney marquee. The last of these, 2015's 3, was produced by Dave Cobb and flirted with the outskirts of my favorites for that year. Two years later, Santo returned with her debut solo album, Ruby Red. Produced by Butch Walker, the session traded in rougher-edged faire like "Wrong Man" and "Love Fucked Up".
Suzanne Santo's follow-up, Yard Sale (Soozanto/Soundly) was largely written while the multi-instrumentalist was on the road playing alongside Hozier prior to the pandemic. As the title suggests, the new songs lay stories of her childhood and her past in the sun for all to see. With producer John Spiker (whose most prominent credits seem to be playing with Steve Earle and Tenacious D), Santo creates a more steady and confident collection that thrives at the intersection of darker roots, pop and rock.
Santo has indicated that "Bad Beast" is inspired by her battles with insomnia, though it could just as easily be applied to any demon that haunts us: This'll bury me one day, on Sunday, Mama won't you pray for me. Its spidery guitar lines compete with heavier bursts, sinister grunts from drummer Paul Doyle threaten beneath the mix. Like its predecessor, Yard Sale holds court in these dark places, with guitars growling and burning, especially at the hands of Gary Clark Jr who joins Santo's small ensemble on "Fall For That". The singer enhances the wild ride with wailing vocals teetering on the brink of distortion.
Suzanne Santo has written or co-written every song on Yard Sale, and her voice as a writer and an uncanny vocalist permeate the sessions. With its muted piano and percussion the opener, "Over and Over Again" is a mesmerizing ride, a repeated refrain promising better days ahead. The country ballad, "Island" features a similar terrific choral backing. The songs bookend the record, and serve to illustrate the reach and range of Santo's art. From the latter: Would it help if I used simpler words / Yeah I overdo it sometimes / I am cursive on a holiday card.
Behind original lyrical content like that, Yard Sale outperforms expectations. A cowrite with Shakey Graves, "Afraid of Heights" offers one of a number of glimpses of the pop sensibility behind Santo's craft. With Rose-Garcia's vocals haunting the edges of the recording, Santo sings like Jolie Holland in a hall of mirrors. She advises: C'mon honey / Toughen the fuck up. Elsewhere, on "Save For Love" she exercises restraint to great effect. Even in its darkest moments, these songs can be gorgeous in a velvet-curtained, gothic fashion. It's a setting in which the singer seems very much at home: Give that soul deep within you / A voice like a parable / And make room for the hateful / Seat 'em at your table.
Songs like "Common Sense" and "To No End" grant the listener a more grounded, personal window into Suzanne Santo's story, following her from the Midwest to the West Coast and on to her current home in Austin. Ushered in by a curiously muted Greek chorus and accompanied by an otherworldly saw, she betrays both affection and resentment: Take that little rust belt town / I hope that they don't tear it down / Cause I'll take your dirty streets, graffiti / Fucked up roads and bitter winter cold.
"Mercy" let's that compassion shine through the pain of bittersweet memories for the album's most straightforward track. Santo's banjo lends the song a country spirit, even as her delivery lifts the track into gospel range. Where some of August's other highlights have allowed us to reconnect with familiar voices, little landed with as much welcome surprise as Suzanne Santo's new project. At the close of the seemingly endless month, Yard Sale is the one record you just have to hear.
--------------------------
Over on A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster, Kacey Musgraves has announced details about her follow-up to 2018's Golden Hour. Slated for September 10 (Interscope), star-crossed explores the dissolution of the artist's marriage to Ruston Kelly. It's been a bit longer since we heard from Bob and Mike Delevante (think 1997). The Delevantes recently stepped back into the fray, setting a September 17 debut for A Thousand Turns (Moon River). Also on September 17, Hailey Whitters and singer-songwriter Ernest celebrate the classic country duet. Their seven-song EP, Countrypolitan hits shelves via the Pigasus label. Hardly a household name, Virgil Shaw released the excellent and overlooked Still Falling back in '03. Shaw has resurfaced with At the Time I Didn't Care, and will care enough to share on October 15 (Rocks in Your Head). Justin Osborne and SUSTO have leapt from Rounder to New West for their fourth full-length. Expect Time in the Sun on October 29.
No comments:
Post a Comment