Let You Down, Bird Streets (from the Sparkle Plenty/Deko Records release Lagoon)
John Brodeur – aka Bird Streets – is a master of the power pop craft. To be sure, these aren’t pop songs of the three chord variety. Rather, they have an inspired complexity – accessible yet filled with melodic and lyrical twists along the way. The arrangements are as sublime as they are varied, with strings, horns, organ, and pedal steel giving the songs extra impact.
A close listen to the lyrics finds them very discomforting. Much of the album finds Brodeur processing failed relationships, dramatic loss, and other hardships. “Let You Down” documents a fractured and possibly concluded relationship. “Past tense, I was acting in self-defense,” he sings, “But in my experience I was wrong. I don’t wanna let you go, but I don’t wanna let you down.”
The theme of broken relationships continues on “The Document. Clarinet and flute make the moody song even moodier, as Brodeur laments, “Bold enough to break your heart, but not prepared to live apart.”
“Disappearing Act”, with its wonderful horn and organ Muscle Shoals soul, finds the singer taking stock of his life. “I’m neither the man I wanted to be nor the man I thought I was. Just a couple drinks away from being anonymous.”
Fiery electric guitars fuel “Ambulance”, a dark tale of alcoholism that concludes with Brodeur screaming “this is not a victory”. On the other end of the sonic spectrum, “On Fire”, built around a glorious acoustic guitar and strings arrangement, looks back fondly on a short-lived encounter.
As a further testament to Brodeur’s craftmanship and reputation, a veritable who’s who of pop masters lend their talents to Lagoon, including Pat Sansone (Wilco), Aimee Mann, Ed Harcourt, John Davis (Superdrag), and Jody Stephens (Big Star). But make no mistake – it’s Brodeur and his songs that shine the brightest on Lagoon.
Books & Records, Adeem the Artist (from the Four Quarters Records release White Trash Revelry)
White Trash Revelry is the tale of Adeem the Artist coming to grips with a religious Southern upbringing. The songs, generally folk songs brought to life with a country pop flair, are both musically accessible and lyrically weighty.
Adeem starts at the beginning, chronicling family and childhood in “Carolina”. It’s not a particularly happy tale but it ends with an air of positivity, “Some of us have childhoods that aren’t poems on sight; But, darlin’, you’re doing alright.”
The familial perspectives continue on songs like “Painkillers & Magic” and “Baptized in Well Spirits”. The songs are both reflective and definitive. The former is the tale of family members dealing with drugs, alcohol, and religion while the latter finds Adeem attempting to reconcile it into a personal path forward:
I’ll be drinking when I’m happy & praying when I’m sad;
Baptized in well spirits
I found the road that split towards good or evil
And knew I’d have to carve another way
The melancholy “Books & Records” chronicles economic hardship with dramatic detail. “I priced my blood to try and turn back on our power; Oh, Lord, there’s got to be a better way,” Adeem sings, later adding, “and down at Tommy’s Pawn, there’s an unheard song buried in my grandpa’s guitar.”
Adeem, however, does share a few more light-hearted moments along the way. “Run This Town” is a biting but rocking country bit of political satire that fantasizes taking over local government. “Going to Hell” is bluegrass-infused country that name-checks Charlie Daniels and the Louvin Brothers and, more potently, offers a re-telling of Robert Johnson’s legendary deal with the devil before concluding, “They play country songs in heaven But in hell, we play ‘em loud.” Amen, Adeem.
The Mountain, Jerry Joseph (from the Dial Back Sound release Tick)
It seems the 2020 collaboration between Jerry Joseph and the Drive-By Truckers is the gift that keeps on giving. The newly released Tick packages some demos and outtakes from the album as well as a handful of songs performed live by Joseph and the Truckers right before the Covid lockdown began. While all are good, the outtakes are especially rewarding.
Joseph fills his songs with emotion and impact and these new songs are no exception. “South of South” is a slow but forceful boogie about finding one’s way in life while “Quiet” is a thoughtful reflection on speaking less and listening more. Among the other “new” tracks are the rumbling rocker “The Mountain”, with a haunting vocal contribution from Schaefer Llana, and the brooding demo “Sometimes a Great Notion”.
As for the live tracks, they are gritty and rockin’; exactly what one would expect from the combination of Joseph and the Truckers.
Easy, Mightmare (from the Kill Rock Stars release Cruel Liars)
If the voice you hear singing in Mightmare sounds familiar – it should. River Shook sets aside the Americana rock of Sarah Shook & the Disarmers to explore indie rock and pop as Mightmare. The results are, well, rock solid. Much of the collection is brooding but powered by stout rhythms, fuzzy guitars, and the occasional keyboard or strings flourish.
The lyrics mostly deal with the complexities of relationships, generally focused on their challenges and failures. Shook doesn’t pull any punches in that regard, singing “If you wanna make it work You’re gonna hafta change some things” on the insistent “Make It Work and “I’d rather be Your enemy than fade away like a childhood friend,” on the ominous “Enemy”. Yet Shook does offer up one moment of romantic joy with the restrained pop of “Easy”.
People Grow Apart, Brendan Benson (from the Schnitzel Records release Low Key)
Count Brendan Benson among the artists who released an album just prior to the world going into lockdown. Unable to tour in support of it, or really do much of anything, he channeled himself into what became the newly released Low Key. While the music is the power pop goodness that we’ve come to expect from Benson, the lyrics are reflective of time spent in isolation.
Opener “Ain’t No Good” finds the singer-songwriter coping with the confinement and taking himself to task, singing “Oh, no, look at what I’ve done, I have made my bed and shut down everyone.” “People Grow Apart” starts with just acoustic guitar before exploding into an electric guitar fury on the chorus as Benson marks the end of a relationship, “We don’t have to be enemies, but we can’t be friends”.
He gets more introspective on “Whatever’s On My Mind”, his ode to being outspoken, and “All In” living life to its fullest and on his own terms.
Rounding out the collection are a pair of retro-leaning songs. “Whole Lotta Nothin’”, complete with horns, has an old school R&B vibe while he also serves up a fun and faithful take on Gerry Rafferty’s 1978 hit “Right Down the Line”.
It all adds up to another fine release from Benson. Now let’s hope that we get the chance to see him bring the songs to life live.
When We Believed, Alena Diane (from the Soundly Music release Looking Glass)
Alena Diane’s Looking Glass is a quiet and orchestral beauty. The Portland-based songwriter’s lyrics are heavy with melancholy, filled with reflections of a life that didn’t follow the intended path. “When We Believed” is particularly poignant as she sings, “All the days inside these walls licking the wounds of limbs we lost when we believed we could have it all.” On “Dream a River” she returns to the location that signifies a failed relationship, declaring “I just returned to say goodbye; Thought that maybe there’s something I’d find, like the way a memory moves in the corner of a room.”
The arrangements are restrained and exquisite. “Of Love” is a prime example. What sound like quiet crickets open the song, conjuring up images of contemplating life under the stars late at night, before the song swells with orchestral strings. The instrumentation does more than gives the songs their tremendous depth, it imbues them with a delicate and pastoral grace.
While We’re Here, M. Lockwood Porter (from the Black Mesa Records release Sisyphus Happy)
Porter has built a reputation for thoughtful, and often hard, perspectives. While Communion In The Ashes, his last album, was outward facing and reflective of the social and political turmoil of that period, the newly released Sisyphus Happy is an introspective contemplation on his journey through the subsequent years.
The Beatles-esque “Out to Find The Answer” is the wandering tale of an artist who leaves a relationship behind in pursuit of the musical dream, but ultimately finds happiness back with the loved one. “I thought I could be Neil Young, but I don’t think Neil done it this way,” he admits before concluding, “The very day that I left you, I made a sacred vow; to go out and find the answer and finally make it back somehow.”
The saga of a musician with big dreams continues on the upbeat “Craigslist Song”, Porter approaching it with honesty and perspective:
Quit my job so I couldn’t back out
Went on tour and maxed out my credit card
I could have made it, but I doubt it
Thought it wouldn’t count if it didn’t come hard
“Dark Before the Morning”, an acoustic gem centered around a mandolin, stands on the line between an unhappy past and hope for the future, with Porter singing, “They say the old is dying, the new is not yet born, so sit here in the dark before the morning.”
Among the album’s most poignant moments are “The Kid Who Ran Away” and “While We’re Here”, both reflections on Porter’s relationship with his late father. The former chronicles their time together while the latter is a moving rumination on his loss, ultimately concluding “Thank you for everything you taught me, It has come in handy”.
Rusty, Gabe Lee (from the Torrez Music Group release The Hometown Kid)
Listening to The Hometown Kid, one gets the sense that Gabe Lee spends a fair amount of time on the road. Several of the songs capture the traveling lifestyle and, more specifically, the longing for home.
Opener “Wide Open” finds him pining for home, reliving memories of his youth in an apparent rural small town. “Rusty” is a musician’s lament, the tale of pursuing dreams on the road. “Now I’m rusty, I’ve been runnin’ out of steam,” he sings, “too many miles on these four tires, and not enough gasoline.” He tackles the challenge of maintaining a relationship at home while touring on “One of These Days”:
One of these days, I swear
I’m gonna turn it all around, I mean
Better than I was, but
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves just now
I still gotta make a livin’
And make certain ends meet
But ah hell, another song and another drink
“Lucky Stars” arguably captures what happened next. “When she said ‘”‘I don’t love you'”‘, nearly tore my world apart,” Lee admits before adding, “but I count my lucky stars and thank God for this guitar.” A musician through and through.
The Hang of It, Dan Israel (from the self-released Seriously)
Minneapolis artist Dan Israel has travelled a long road. Over the course of his career, he’s released 17 albums whose styles have ranged from folk to rock. Seriously is mostly the latter, a generally electric guitar fueled outing.
Things start out enthusiastically enough with opener “Happy For Now”, with its message of positive reinforcement: “Gotta throw this sad story overboard, Gotta teach the blues how to be ignored.” But the underlying current of an artist questioning professional and personal decisions gets stronger on the guitar heavy “Seriously” and acoustic “How Do I”.
“I’m In New York” and “Taking the Fall” are a two song cycle that describe a musician’s trip to NYC, only to find it lonely and isolating. The reflections on life decisions come to a head on “I Quit”, but Israel quickly finds some sense of contentment on the closing “The Hang of It”, singing “Yeah, I ain’t ever gonna quit, no I can’t stop now, just got the hang of it.”
Hi Tops, Lo Tops, Jackson Emmer
One might say that Colorado singer-songwriter Jackson Emmer got a little carried away this year. He began the year with a plan to write and record a song a month but is finishing up with a 22 song collection.
It’s an eclectic lot, as one might expect, from the old-timey jazz of “Cornflakes and Whiskey” to the southwestern flair of ““Wild Sage, Desert Rose”. There are multiple flavors of country – from the Hank Williams-style “Ten Cent Western” to the honky-tonk “Times Have Changed” to the 1980’s/90’s vibe of “Country Music’s Coming Back” to the truck-drivin’ rumble of “Hi Tops, Lo Tops”. There’s plenty of acoustic singer-songwriter fare as well, including the wonderful ballads “Mess or Masterpiece” and “What Good is a Gentle Man”.
About the author: Mild-mannered corporate executive by day, excitable Twangville denizen by night.