When we last checked into our Americana travelogue protagonists, Alyssa and Doug Graham, they had just finished the third segment in a 3-part journey across the landscape. It was a motorcycle ride down Route 66, and was preceded by a train tour of the country and a Mississippi riverboat cruise. For their newest release, The Bridge, The Grahams turned their lens inward and made a more introspective record. Starting as high school sweethearts in New Jersey they had 37 years together to draw on for material.
You can start with the album title, a nod to the George Washington Bridge, leading from their suburban roots to their later home. On Only New York, a piano-forward ballad where they note “across the bridge, you were just a mystery when we were kids;” then later morphs into “only New York can break my heart over and over again.” Let’s Disappear is a little bit funkier before strings lighten it in an ode to the lure of the road that’s “such a rush, a shot in the vein.” Alyssa’s love of Carole King’s Tapestry flavors The One Who Remembers, a too sad story of a mother with Alzheimer’s and the family dynamic that goes with it. The couple looks the other way in the family tree with Georgette, a brag on their daughter because “she’ll blow you away, what else can I say.”
For me, the strongest tracks are the ones where they delve into their own relationship and maturation. Worst Parts Of Me picks up those King piano stylings again when they comment on the little things that make them love each other, like “the way I sing a little off key when I’m drinking.” Little Fires is more about recognizing the work you have to put in to stay together, along the lines of “tell me that I’m right this time.” Philosophically, the record reaches its peak on Found It In Us, the guitar-heaviest song. It’s about spending your younger years looking for your place in life only to realize “we could be looking forever for something we already have.”
Between their early experiences as jazz players and the follow-up return to their folk and Americana roots, The Grahams have a vast set of musical experiences at their disposal. For this new album they took a more collaborative creative approach, including working with singer-songwriter Kate York, and Grammy nominees Dex Green and Aaron Lee Tasjan. They came out of the sessions with a more pop-oriented sound, featuring keys and strings and synthesizers. Don’t let all that polish and glitter distract you, though. The Bridge is one of those records that draws you in deeper with every listen.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.