Broken Heart of Mine, William Prince (from the Six Shooter Records release Stand in the Joy)
“Is the moon shining bright where you are? Is it even shining at all?,” asks William Prince at the start of the outstanding “When You Miss Someone”, the lead track from his latest album. The song wistfully chronicles the longing that comes from being separated from a loved one, the combination of Prince’s vivid lyrics and rich baritone emanating deep emotion. It sets the tone for a collection of songs filled with incredible dignity and beauty.
“Only Thing We Need”, the dreamy ballad that follows, finds the singer coping with the ever-quickening passage of time. “Brother, don’t drive fast; hard enough to see you as it is,” he sings before adding, “time will be the only thing we need”.
At the other end of the time continuum is “Young”, in which Prince reflects on youthful dreams and ambitions. But in Prince-ian fashion, the song looks back with a weighty air:
Shoulda had it all by now,
According to my younger self;
What ain’t down on paper
Means nothin’ in the real world
Prince celebrates love on the intoxicating “Tanqueray” and “Easier and Harder”. The former is a gentle love song with verses partly spoken rather than sung. An evocative chorus paints a striking picture: “Tanqueray on your lips then mine, tattoo of cheap red wine tracing the smile on your face.” The latter song is a more light-hearted tribute to love that finds him explaining, “If you learn to compromise, it’ll spare you some hell”.
And then there is “Broken Heart of Mine”. Songs really don’t get much better. It carries all the melancholy of a classic country tear-jerker yet, in Prince’s hands, flows with grace and eloquence:
Don’t go faultin’ the assembly
How I’m dealin’ with this heartbreak
I’m just doin’ what they taught me
With a guitar and a drink
I know there’s things worse than you leavin’
But, they seldom cross my mind
Please don’t judge the way I’m dealin’
With this broken heart of mine
Stand in the Joy is another masterpiece in the Prince canon – exquisite and captivating.
Hunter, Jess Williamson (from the Mexican Summer release Time Ain’t Accidental)
Fresh from her tremendous collaboration with Katie Crutchfield in the duo Plains, Jess Williamson returns with another gem in the form of a solo album entitled Time Ain’t Accidental. The album explores complicated relationships, often centered around timing or the lack thereof.
In the opening title track, the couple are living in the moment, both apparently getting over previous relationships. “We don’t belong to anyone and both need time alone,” Williamson sings before adding that she “won’t promise tomorrow”.
The ill timing is more one-sided on “Hunter”. Williamson sings – unapologetically – about moving too quickly in pursuit of a relationship before ultimately declaring, “Baby it’s fine, I’d a blown your mind, but I guess I’m gonna give you space”.
Williamson meets up with a former lover on the country ballad “Tobacco Two Step”. He has moved on to someone else – “She looks real young and nice and agreeable, and why am I not surprised?” – as the singer questions why she is alone and whether their shared relationship was a waste of time.
The sentiment continues on the percussion heavy “Topanga Two Step” as Williamson takes her lover to task, “Is it a one time dream or a country queen that you take me for?” before adding “Guess I’ve always been hungry for them hearts just outta my reach”.
She closes with the upbeat, if not uplifting, “Roads”. The song acknowledges the love she has for a former companion as she laments, “All the roads we didn’t travel, everything we left unsaid”. Saxophones help close out the song, giving it a melancholy air.
Time Ain’t Accidental marries lyrical substance with musical accessibility, achieving wonderful results.
Madeline, Jamie McDell (from the self-released EP The Beach House)
I’ve been patiently waiting for new music from New Zealand’s Jamie McDell. Well, who am I kidding, I haven’t really been that patient. Part of the delay was McDell’s frustration and exhaustion with the music industry. Although only 30, she’s a veteran who signed her first major label deal at the age of 16.
One can hear echoes of that experience throughout the EP. In the title track she explains:
I want to write my teachers and tell ’em they were wrong
But the truth is, I’m not saving people
I’m just writing songs
Just trying to feel well
It continues on “Madeline”, the tale of a singer-songwriter beaten down in pursuit of her dream:
I don’t think she had a plan
Little girls and anger always dance that dance
Even with no growing pains at all, old shoes can still feel small
McDell closes the EP with a relaxed cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Talkin’ ‘bout a Revolution”. It is the icing on the cake of an artist who brings an emotional honesty to both her music and performance.
Flyover Halftime, The Hold Steady (from the Positive Jams / Thirty Tigers release The Price of Progress)
Craig Finn is one of rock and roll’s great storytellers. The singer-songwriter not only vividly describes situations and incidents that form the foundation of his songs, he also captures the thoughts and motives of the characters who experience them. His songs are self-encapsulated short stories even as his characters make recurring appearances across songs and albums. As a result, one can think of The Hold Steady’s releases as much as literary anthologies as they are albums. Loud and impassioned ones, for sure, as the band brings the songs to life in full on rock and roll glory.
The Price of Progress brims with discontent, expressed by wannabes and reprobates. There’s Carlos, sitting at a bar with his friends lamenting the state of his life in “Carlos Is Crying”. There’s the Birdwatcher, the Cardinal and the Colonel, guides to an illicit party scene in “The Birdwatchers”. There’s the mysterious disappearance of an actor in “Understudies”, seemingly related to some unsavory business taking place at a nearby bakery.
Complicated relationships are a recurring theme, whether it’s the frazzled attempt at romance between two “party friends” in “Perdido” or the apartment building neighbors who share a drunken and drug-laden evening – after which their interactions become distant and awkward – in “Sixers”.
Album closer “Flyover Halftime” is quintessential The Hold Steady. Nominally the tale of attending a football game, in Finn’s world the focus turns to a drunken tailgate and a fan rushing onto the field in the middle of the game to steal the ball. When he runs towards – but fails to cross – the end zone line, the crowd begins to riot. Such is life in The Hold Steady’s world. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Dear John, Wild Child (from the Reba’s Ranch Records release End of the World)
Wild Child’s latest album is an enthralling collection of songs that dig into the emotional intricacies of modern relationships, including the complexities of relationship aftermath. Perhaps not surprisingly, and as the title suggests, there isn’t much happiness to be found on End of the World.
The symphonic glory of “Cheap Champagne” finds singer Kesley Wilson pining for a lover, imploring “say I’m yours and I’ll give the best of it”. Never mind that the objection of her affection is apparently looking at someone else, a sign of things to come….
The relationships get sour on “Photographs” and the lilting “Good Luck”. The former finds the singer reflecting on a failed romance and asking “how long do I keep photographs”. The latter starts as a lilting acoustic ballad but the arrival of percussion in the chorus gives it a more determined attitude as Wilson sings, “So let’s go our separate ways and I’ll see you again some day”.
“Could’ve Fooled Me” captures the varied emotions of a disintegrating relationship and a couple re-connecting, an arguably ill-advised idea. “Looks like we’re moving on but you could’ve fooled me,” Wilson ruminates before acknowledging that the relationship is really over, “you could have told me when it was over”.
The shoe is on the other foot in “Dear John” as Wilson dispatches a former lover who is dealing with a current break-up, “I can feel you gunning for me, still I don’t want you back,” she declares, “Shit I don’t want you back now”.
The group closes the album on a highly vulnerable note with the ballad “Wearing Blue”. Accompanied by piano and strings, Wilson is tormented by a fractured relationship as she pleads “Hold me like you mean it”.
The songs are made all the richer by the resonant and layered arrangements. Beyond traditional rock band instrumentation, the group incorporates plenty of piano, synthesizers, and strings, not to mention resonant harmonies, to bring their melodies to life. It all adds up to a rewarding listen from start to finish.
No Apology, Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton (from the Rounder Records release Death Wish Blues)
Damn, this album is good. Kansas City-reared blues singer Fish teams up with Beaumont, Texas bred Jesse Dayton for an incendiary rock album. The two offer a little bit of everything on Death Wish Blues, from the grittiness of the title track to the funkiness of “Down in the Mud” to the soulful groove of “No Apology” to the, well, you get the idea.
As one would expect, their guitars do much of the talking – rumbling, growling, slithering, and otherwise being downright nasty. Yet the vocals, particularly from Fish, are equally potent.
Through all that, however, the songs that arguably hit the hardest as the ones that are least clamorous. “No Apology” and album closer “Know My Heart” both lean into soul and R&B territory. The former, about attempting to salvage a romantic relationship, saunters with a classic 1960’s while the latter is a relaxed ode to struggling to overcome distance – both figurative and literal – in a relationship.
Here’s hoping that this is just the start of long-lasting collaboration. We need more rock and roll like what Fish and Dayton deliver on Death Wish Blues.
Spoils, Annie Bartholomew (from the self-released Sisters of the White Chapel)
The sheer ambition of Annie Bartholomew’s Sisters of the White Chapel is impressive even before you hear a single note. The Alaska native has created both a theater project and an album that chronicles the lives of women who migrated north during the 19th century gold rush in Alaska and the Yukon.
Album openers “White Chapel Woman”, “All for the Klondike’s Gold”, and “Dead Horse Trail” set the stage for the stories that follow. The first song describes the experience of the women who made the journey while the latter two paint the picture of the hardships that they encountered upon their arrival.
From there, Bartholomew digs deep into the harshness of their experience and the paths they took to survive, particularly turning to life as sex workers. The gospel a cappella of “Feel My Sin” describes a woman who turns to prostitution to survive while the plaintive “Spoils”, featuring just Bartholomew’s voice and banjo, portrays their interactions with the prospectors whose dreams of riches ended in failure.
The closing waltz “Last Confession” captures an elderly woman reflecting on what her life has become:
When I die in this cathouse
Dress me in my finest clothes
Lay my body in Dyea
On my grave a Sitka Rose
Tell my mother I married rich
Tell my father I was lost at sea
But to suffer the fate
At those pearly gates
Praying mercy
Mercy on Me
Sisters of the White Chapel is certainly not an easy listen – nor should it be given the subject matter – but it is a remarkable marriage of music and storytelling.
Over It, Matthew Logan Vasquez (from the Nine Mile Records release As All Get Out)
Matthew Logan Vasquez certainly likes his rock and roll. Although only eight tracks, his latest album moves from the pummeling rock of “Can You Turn Me Up” to the percussive balladry of “Odysseus”. Among it’s finer moments are stories that Vasquez has pulled from his own life experience.
“Over It”, with its perfect blend of emphatic rock and melodic pop, gives one a peek into the studio of a recording band. The tale may sound familiar to anyone who saw the arguments in The Beatles “Get Back” documentary. “And give another hand for the bully in the band” he sings before telling his band mates that he is “so over it, so over it”.
It logically segues into “Odysseus”, a song about being stuck in the studio but wanting to get home to his son. “Please intercede for my children’s sake, these fatherless eyes are breaking my heart,” he pleads.
The focus shifts beyond the singer’s own life on “Untouchable” – a murder ballad minus the ballad. The song, based on a true story, tells the tale of a possessive man who commits murder but escapes justice thanks to bribes and family connections.
Closer “Recognize” is an incredibly moving ballad that chronicles his father-in-law’s struggle with Alzheimers disease. “My old memories, they betray my eyes,” he shares, “I have become a burden that I despise.” It offers a moving close to a powerful – both musically and lyrically – album.
Ghost Run Free, The Lemon Twigs (from the Captured Tracks release Everything Harmony)
Although brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario are only in their 20s, their music will magically transport you back to the classic power pop of the early 1970’s. Their songs are immensely melodic and with a sophistication that recalls early Todd Rundgren.
Songs like “Every Day Is The Worst Day of My Life” and “New To Me” are quiet and introspective, mostly centered around the brother’s harmonies and an acoustic guitar. Others, like “What Happens to a Heart” and the title track, are more soaring and orchestral. Or, in the case of “What Were You Doing” and the glorious “Ghost Run Free”, infused with a 1970’s rock vibe a la Big Star.
“When Winter Comes Around”, which calls to mind a 1970’s English folk ballad, kind of splits the difference. It opens and closes with just voice and guitar but builds to a symphonic peak mid-song.
Overall Everything Harmony is a mellow affair but damn if it isn’t among the finer power pop albums so far this year.
Seven Mile Fair, Trapper Schoepp (from the Grand Phony Records release Siren Songs)
Milwaukee’s Trapper Schoepp continues to follow his muse, this time into the throes of Irish and English folk music. He does so, however, with his own rock sensibility and by drawing lyrical inspiration from his midwestern US roots.
“White Cliffs of Dover”, the album opener, is a good example. The title references the English coastline while the lyrics describe an Iraqi war veteran dealing with PTSD. The song’s catchy folk melody is propelled by a driving acoustic rhythm accompaniment.
One can most noticeably hear the musical influence in the harmonium and tin whistle that shape “Good Graces”, Schoepp’s tale of a couple at a crossroads.
There are two roads
We may go down
We may go down
And either way
I long to stay
In your good, good graces
Schoepp offers upbeat odes to love, fleeting and unrequited, in the form of “7 Mile Fair” and “Anna Lee”, respectively. He turns attention to himself on the acoustic, somewhat Crosby, Stills & Nash-sounding, “The Fool”. The songs finds him offering his younger self advice relationship advice:
Know all the rules
Yet you break them gladly
Know all the rules
Yet you learn so sadly
The common thread – across Siren Songs and all Schoepp’s albums – is his tremendous pop melodies. All the better, he delivers them with tremendous enthusiasm. It makes his songs – even the darker ones – downright infectious.
I’ve Lost You, Jackie Wilson (from the Org Music/Brunswick Records re-issue Higher and Higher)
I don’t often include re-issues in my playlists. For Jackie Wilson, however, I’m going to make an exception. The late R&B singer possessed one of the best voices ever. And while the arrangements were often overwrought with strings, horns and background vocalists, Wilson’s voice always shown through.
Originally released in 1967, Higher and Higher most notably includes the title track – undoubtedly Wilson’s biggest hit. But there is so much more here to appreciate. “I’ve Lost You”, “Open the Door to Your Heart”, “You Can Count on Me” are classic pop with infectious R&B grooves. “Don’t Need You Around” is a simmering gem of a ballad while Wilson let’s his voice loose on the fiesty “I Need Your Lovin’”.
One can hear the echoes of these performances in countless other artists, from the 1960s and 70s right through to today. But none will ever replicate the magic that was Jackie Wilson.
About the author: Mild-mannered corporate executive by day, excitable Twangville denizen by night.