So much of our time is spent navigating
the ‘net, making sure we’ve caught all those artists for whom the spotlight
hasn’t yet hit. Birmingham label Cornelius Chapel isn’t exactly far off the
beaten path – we’ve greatly valued their discerning trickle of releases over
the years – but Birmingham, Alabama's Kyle Kimbrell still plays to small audiences at the occasional
coffee shop. His second full-length, Easy Truths, gives us a great reason to
pay closer attention to him, a terrific find for those who prefer their country
alt and their songs literate. We know we’ve found a fellow traveler when he
includes posts on his socials about the books he’s reading – Rick Bass, Harry
Crews, Willy Vlautin, Larry Brown.
We filed Kimbrell’s debut full-length, From Rust To Real, in the ‘better than it needs to be’ pile, an unexpectedly well-built collection recorded with Matt Patton at Mississippi’s Dial Back Sound. Those 2020 songs burned with a spark and energy, the product of a singer-songwriter who often plays like he’s fronting a band. Kimbrell turns to producer/instrumentalist Brad Lyons for Easy Truths, his new set released earlier this month by the aforementioned Cornelius Chapel label, songs that continue to peel back the curtains on Kyle Kimbrell’s promise and vision.
Easy Truths comes across like an evening of eavesdropping on the thoughts of the denizens of an anytown watering hole, reflections that tell a story without resolution or moral. One of the correspondents from “Letters From Home” asks How long has it been since the last time … Guess I got symptoms of the hurting kind. A melodic strum pairs with pensive piano, briefly distracted by an electric solo, the narrator asking after the recipient’s parents: Told you time was fleeting / Tried to get you believing in dreams again. We’re asked to read between the lines for the fuller story. A brawny slide guitar defines “Wine Of Youth”, poised between the fires of youth and the regrets of adulthood. Enough of the narrator’s life is behind him that he despairs: Oh to be young again / With nothing but life to give.
“Bar Rat” posits us in the midst of the fray, joining a drunken chorus of voices at the local watering hole where Daniel Raine’s barroom piano and Ford Boswell’s pedal steel soundtrack the proceedings. Easy Truths’ most unapologetically country track sways on unsteady boots: I take my aggression / I throw it around at the bar. At another table we find “Poor Donny”, a driving workin’ man’s blues, powered by harmonica, Southern rock guitar, and those pounded keys. There’s nothing heroic about Kimbrell’s blue collar Donny, matter of fact he seems to be well into his decline: Man he’s failing / At being a better man … Guess he’s a whole lotta nothing.
Kyle Kimbrell’s new collection is more often than not delivered in the vernacular of heavy electric guitar at the hands of producer Lyons and the songwriter himself. Nothing is lacking from the full-band buzz, augmented regularly with harmonies from Liz Vann. Delivered with just enough slur and twang, Kimbrell sings like a young Jay Farrar on songs like “Shape I’m In”. Invoking the spirit of Kerouac, the restless narrator has his eyes on the horizon as voices rise to meet the chorus: Time to get moving / We’re getting out of here. The spirit of Springsteen haunts the bass stomp of “Holy Bombs”. Piano twines with guitar on the gentler “Punk Rock Girl”, adding a rare touch of romance to the otherwise dry-eyed Easy Truths.
Like a classic Larry Brown novel, there are no statement victories on Kyle Kimbrell’s Easy Truths, no heroes or saints rising to lead this chorus of voices. The singer describes his unsteady mobile home on the excellent “Interstate Living”, punctuated with stabs of guitar: I can’t believe I come home to this. The voices that ramble and rattle inside Kimbrell’s head are as vivid and familiar as those from the writer’s own favorite authors, with the welcome benefit of giving expression to a very strong alt.country project.
There's no better way to track new and forthcoming releases than by paying a regular visit to A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster. Added this week: Just about a year after the release of his last full-length project, Jeffrey Silverstein will be sharing a new EP. Named after his Portland neighborhood, Roseway is set for a June 14 appearance (Arrowhawk). We're set for the next project from Nathaniel Rateliff & Night Sweats. Appearing courtesy of the Stax label, South Of Here is due June 28. Jake Xerxes Fussell is now on the Fat Possum label. Expect When I'm Called to arrive July 12. Less than a year after her Psychopath LP, country songwriter Morgan Wade has prepared a follow-up. Obsessed is street-dated for August 16 (Ladylike). Finally, we've had a note about Sophie Gault's next record on our radar for several months. Baltic Street Hotel has been pushed back to September 20, now via the Torrez music group.
- Lucinda Williams, "Legendary Hearts" Power Of the Heart: Tribute To Lou Reed (Light In the Attic, 24) D
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