TRAiPSiNG THRU the AiSLES: add these to your basket
September 16, 2024
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
From Nashville by way of Louisiana, songwriter-guitarist Kevin Gordon offers his first collection since 2018's superb Tilt and Shine. The new sessions start with "Simple Things", seemingly processing pandemic realities but also recognizing far more serious challenges Gordon has faced in recent years, including treatment for throat cancer. The guitar-fueled track features pedal steel wizard Fats Kaplin and terrific backing vocals from Luella Wood: Cloudy skies in quarantine / Fourteen months since I've seen / A smile crease the corners of your eyes. A graduate of Iowa's Writers Workshop, he has consistently written better music than his name recognition might suggest, especially since 2005's O Come Look At the Burning. Since the turn of the century, Gordon has worked alongside producer/guitarist Joe V McMahan, who returns for In Between. Stinging electric guitar serves a role in most of these new songs, holding down a bluesy groove on "Keeping My Brother Down", a cut addressing reparations and the ways in which the white majority are responsible: A voice said, 'See all these shackles and chains / And blood and rope in the trees / They're your burden to keep / Til every single beat down soul is free'. The singer recalls John Hiatt on the title song, a heartland ballad that lives in the space between ideals and realities, intentions that might remain unmet across generations: Just being born / Burns off your wings / I keep a devil in the corner of my grin. Songs like "Love Right" and "Coming Up" borrow from early rock with a touch of tuneful jangle guitar a'la Nick Lowe or Dave Edmonds. The latter tune name-drops Skip James' "Illinois Blues" in its praise of the salvific power of rock 'n roll: Plugging into that amp like blowing down a door / Found what I was looking for. Most resonant are the pieces where Gordon anchors his first-hand knowledge of the South with names and places from his youth, such as "Marion", which sees Reagan's anti-AIDs campaign through the eyes of a gay friend, or the young love ballad, "Tammy Cecile": I still have that crazy photograph / Me in a Black Flag t-shirt / You in that old wedding dress / A faded bouquet in your hands / You said it was just for practice. The In Between closes with the moving "You Can't Hurt Me No More", his only cowrite, written with Kim Richey. Kevin Gordon tells how he recorded much of the music for his new set prior to his cancer diagnosis, though it wasn't until he was in remission that he set about finishing lyrics and recording his vocals. There is a tender world-weariness to his new collection, a gratitude for the things that work and an understanding for those that don't. Our best artists continue to surprise us, challenging our expectation even years into their career.
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Left Arm Tan completed a great run a couple years back, closing the book on some terrific alt.country and roots rock. As guitarist Daniel Hines described in our recent For the Record, what remained of LAT have reconvened as Marfa Lights, applying their songwriting prowess to a new blend of americana, border music, and outmoded technology, coming together for one bitchin' ride. The results aren't as alien as the publicity might indicate, though with producer Phil Pritchett the band juxtapose expired Casio beats with organic acoustic instrumentation on songs like "Nobody Reads the Paper", also featuring dobro and sax. The shuffling "8 Track Cadillac" assembles a synth loop with chimes, horns and warm vocals: Nothin' but hits from the 70s / It feels like solid gold. The cumulative effect of this is never intrusive, but folds snugly into the prevailing ambiance, the street sounds, the subtle processing of Brian Lee's vocals. Pieces like "Mexico City" and "Heart Like a Bruise" resonate like more experimental Los Lobos, perhaps as mixed with Calexico's percussive Latin vibe. Abel Casillas' accordion is especially evocative, as are the colorful horns throughout. As Hines as noted, the songs and videos follow the story of a road trip, and while the details aren't obvious the images can be evocative: Meet me tonight / On the streets of Tulum / Where tattoos tell stories / And the mezcal goes down smooth. As with LAT, the success of Marfa Lights' debut lies not in the trappings but in the quality of the songs. The reprise takes included for a couple songs attest to the degree of artistry and creativity underlying the sessions, coming across sometimes as very different expressions. Marfa Lights will sound fine blasting from your 8-track deck, window rolled down and horns shining into the bright blue skies.
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