Singer-songwriter John Calvin was raised an Army brat, moving every few years. That constant upheaval taught him an appreciation for diversity and a tolerance for letting things play out. He has a new record coming out in January, Greener Fields & Fairer Seas, that reflects those values as well as his belief that dark clouds do indeed possess silver linings.
There’s also diversity in the record itself. The laconic tempo and steel guitar of Austin Chalk convey a sense of time controlled by Mother Nature herself. Gravity drives a fuzzy rock and roll rhythm in another reflection on how short human life is in the grand scheme of things. High Is My Favorite Height wanders down a jazzier path, with trumpet and saxophone adding brightness to the bluesier vocals. The CD finishes with a lo-fi version of the traditional Appalachian ballad, Shenandoah, that’s somewhere between Bob Dylan and Pearl Jam.
For a song with a lasting impression, though, you have to take notice of Our Souls Have Broken Chains. It’s an anxiety-filled rock ballad birthed in the tragic death of Heather Heyer at the hand of a white supremacist during a University of Virginia rally. Although Heyer was killed in the summer of 2017, it took 3 years to get the piece worked into shape. As Calvin notes, “when something traumatic happens, it often takes time to process.” So he let the song steep until the pandemic and death of George Floyd brought everything more into focus. Although the subject matter is heavy, it finishes on a note of hope where “we don’t need it all/just a damn to give/an answer for the call/this is our time.” We’re so happy to premiere the song–here is Our Souls Have Broken Chains.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.