If you read our blog, chances are you’re a fan of The Sadies. And so you know Dallas Good, who along with brother Travis was a guiding light of the band, passed away suddenly in February. I’ve gushed about the band before, and was saddened that one of the more talented musicians around, and quirkiest dresser, was gone. Fortunately for music fans, the band already had a new album produced called Colder Streams, and it’s due to be released next week.
The record is pretty much the sound you expect from The Sadies. It’s rock ‘n’ roll with loud, jangly guitars that suddenly drops in a fiddle or a banjo to remind you they’ve been a roots band all along. Stop And Start fits that bill with a view of mental illness that “when the sadness has won, then the madness comes.” Fuzzy guitar provides a nice counterpoint to the soothing lyrics of hypnotism as a metaphor to forgetting someone on No One’s Listening. Ginger Moon races along at a punk tempo to advise that you have to let it go.
There are some sonic outliers on the album to highlight how easily the band takes on other genres. More Alone has a sort of spaghetti western sound and you can hear the pain when the brothers sing “I feel more alone than when I’m alone.” You Should Be Worried is a folk song along the lines of Pink Floyd with the only lyrics being “I’m not worried about you, you should be worried about me.” All the Good is a finger-snapping bluegrass tune, with the Good brothers’ parents making an appearance on vocals and autoharp.
Back in October, when they finished the record, Dallas Good wrote an “anti-bio” of the record and the journey of producing it. In it he says, “Colder Streams is, by far, the best record that has ever been made by anyone. Ever.” Now there’s a chance he was a little biased. What there can be no argument about is that Colder Streams delivers the sounds of The Sadies. It adds to their impressive catalog and reminds you they are on the short list of the best Canadian bands of this century. So thank you, Dallas Good. Rest In Peace.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.