featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
March 3, 2024
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
Through the years, we've chased Brad Armstrong from his time with Dexateens back through his truly original music with 13ghosts, and forward into a trio of underappreciated solo projects (Empire in 2018, Got No Place Remembers Me in 2019, and 2020's Heart Like a Sigil). Those records under his own name sharpened and tamed his earlier unpredictable tendencies, while continuing to emphasize the creativity in his writing. All of this is well worth tracking down.
Over the years, Armstrong has benefited from the vocal support of Maria Taylor (half of Azure Ray alongside Orinda Fink). He finds a new collaborator in Megan Barbera, beneath the moniker Glass Hours, and the duo has released a debut, self-titled album on the Cornelius Chapel label. A fellow Hudson Valley resident and an established songwriter in her own right. Barbera writes: Just over a year ago, I took a chance on writing some songs with a person I barely knew. Someone very different than me. At least on the surface. But our songwriter was strikingly familiar. Other than contributions from fiddler Sue Westcott, the product of their collaboration features only the instruments and vocals of Armstrong and Barbera in a warm, folk-based setting.
Glass Hours isn't as sonically ambitious as Brad Armstrong's earlier work, though the greater ambition at play here might be simply opening oneself to the process of cowriting. Alexander and Barbera trade lead and support vocal throughout their project, their deliveries as complementary as those of Alexander and Taylor. "Hurricane" is a contemporary country number, benefiting from Westcott's fiddle and a prominent pedal steel: He had a stick and poke tattoo / Hole in his heart like an empty room Barbera sings. "Same Old You" maintains that twang with a gothic echo like a theme for a new season of True Crime: Same old you / Splitting your world in two / When it was on the mend. A storysong with a strong dark streak, "Silver For Mine Eyes" adds banjo and fiery strings. Armstrong's voice resounding like Nathaniel Rateliff or Sean Rowe.
I was admittedly unfamiliar with Megan Barbera's songwriting prior to hearing Glass Hours. With a voice that shares qualities with both Natalie Merchant and Jolie Holland, she carries her breathy lead on the historically-inspired "Rattlesnake Springs": Ditch the high hopes and the heavy things / Til you're down to nothing but the dirt to blame. Barbera's work is especially resonant on "Covering Blue", its funereal pace and stamping drum introducing a lovely vocal and an unexpectedly untamed electric guitar solo. An almost dirgelike "Annie" is built from haunting piano and another terrific vocal: I'm the break, you're the storm / It's the way we get along.
Glass Hours' most rewarding moments seem to bear the strong stamp of both songwriters, at the intersection of voices and strings. "Far Enough Away" leans beautifully into the blending of the pair's diverse styles: Hey did you know every road is a straightaway / And everything's a simple shape from far enough away. "Scarlet Tongues" chimes like a 60s folksong: I got canyons in my heartbeat and razors in my voice. There are few grand gestures on Glass Hours. Instead, Megan Barbera and Brad Armstrong succeed on the quiet strength of simplicity and sure songwriting. The sound of artists at work with shared intentions.
- Scott Ballew, "Mutiny" Rio Brava (La Honda, Mar 29)
- Aaron West & the Roaring Twenties, "Alone At St Luke's" In Lieu Of Flowers (Hopeless, Apr 12)
- Jon Snodgrass, "Crunchin' the Numbers" Barge At Will (Thousand, Mar 29) D
- Vandoliers, "Together We Will Sink Or Swim" single (Ted Hutt, 24) D
- Lawrence Rothman, "LAX (ft Amanda Shires)" Plow That Broke the Plains (KRO, Apr 26)
- LA Edwards, "Good Luck" single (Bitchin', 24) D
- Circles Around the Sun, "Gloaming Way (ft Mikaela Davis)" After Sunrise EP (Kill Rock Stars, Apr 5)
- Trummors, "Cosmic Monster" 5 (Ernest Jenning, Apr 12)
- Will Hoge, "Good While It Lasted" Tenderhearted Boys (EDLO, Apr 12)
- Kim Richey, "Floating On the Surface" Every New Beginning (Yep Roc, May 24) D
- Shane Smith & the Saints, "1,000 Wild Horses" Norther (Geronimo West, 24)
- Kelsey Waldon, "Hello Stranger (ft SG Goodman)" There's Always a Song (Oh Boy, May 10) D
- Wonder Women Of Country, "Won't Be Worried Long" Wonder Women Of Country (Bismeaux, Mar 15)
- Loose Collars, "Drunk" single (Sentimental Noises, 24) D
- Kacey Musgraves, "Too Good To Be True" Deeper Well (Interscope, Mar 15)
- Corb Lund, "It Takes Practice" El Viejo (New West, 24)
- Lost Dog Street Band, "If You Leave Me Now" Survived (LDSB, Apr 26)
- Martha Scanlon & Jon Neufeld, "It's Not Supposed To Be That Way" Save It For Later (Jealous Butcher, 24)
^ Glass Hours, "Far Enough Away" Glass Hours (Cornelius Chapel, 24)
- T Bone Burnett, "Waiting For You (ft Lucius)" Other Side (Verve, Apr 19) D
- Richard Thompson, "Singapore Sadie" Ship To Shore (New West, May 31) D
- Rosali, "Bite Down" Bite Down (Merge, Mar 22)
- Daniel Romano, "You Can Steal My Kiss" Too Hot To Sleep (You've Changed, 24)
- Avett Brothers, "Love Of a Girl" Avett Brothers (Ramseur, May 17) D
- Lake Street Dive, "Good Together" Good Together (Fantasy, Jun 21) D
- Stephie James, "Steve McQueen" As Night Fades (James, 24)
- Ophelias, "Black Ribbon" Ribbon EP (Ophelias, Apr 14) D
- Leslie Stevens, "The Dance" Leslie Stevens (Stevens, 24)
- Hurray For the Riff Raff, "Ogallala" Past Is Still Alive (Nonesuch, 24)
- Anna Tivel, "Disposable Camera" Living Thing (Fluff & Gravy, May 31) D
--------------------------
To enjoy our weekly Spotify ROUTES-cast, just open Spotify and search for "routesandbranches" to access this most recent playlist, as well as many others from past months. Or click here for a preview:
No comments:
Post a Comment