Life is a journey, without a doubt. For Flint, Michigan, born-and-raised Miko Marks, the musical part of her journey started as a child. Raised by her mother and grandmother in a community evolved out of the migration of Black farmworkers from the south to the factory jobs in the north, Marks listened and was a part of the church and community music scene from a young age. While there is a blues influence in her early albums, they’re more Memphis and Muscle Shoals than Chicago and Clarksdale. That all changed a couple of years back, with the combination of divorce and sobriety bringing new perspectives to just about everything. The result was a bear hug embrace of the blues on her latest record, Hell Or High Water.
You can start with CD opener Ain’t Nobody Gonna Bring Me Down. It has that harmonica and electric guitar interplay you can hear in just about any blues club in the upper Midwest. The premise is that Marks is fundamentally an optimist, and even more to the point, proactive about it. Nothing’s going to take away her joy. Next up is It’s Alright, a driving lo-fi number about how strength is built out of hard times and there are “hellhounds on the highway, snakes along my trail.” A little further down the set list is Death Rolls Like Thunder. It’s more rocking blues, inspired by the story of Custer’s Last Stand where “I see a pale horse coming and the devil’s got the reins.” In the end, as we all know, the underdogs overthrow the demons.
There are a few numbers that hew a little closer to Marks’ earlier records. Sweet Mama’s Blues is country blues with an electric guitar, but would work admirably in an acoustic setting, too. When she sings, “oh my mother had ’em, and grandma had ’em too,” you just want to shout Amen! I’ve Got A Feeling comes in with a slower tempo that leaves you swaying in your chair with its cry for help, not just for yourself but for all that’s wrong in the world. Bound To Roam is just an acoustic guitar and vocals in a plea to “tell me how long am I bound to roam” looking for a little heaven here on earth. CD closer Freedom is the perfect bookend to Marks’ opener about being an optimist. The track is a happy blues tune about being free because “it’s been a long, dark night, and it sure feels good to see.”
At first blush it might seem a bit odd that Miko Marks came out with a hard-core blues record. If you go back and listen to her earlier releases, though, you can hear the foundations for what’s coming. Queue the emotional trauma of simultaneously dealing with divorce and rehab and it was just a short couple of steps to this album. Unlike someone who just discovered the blues, she’s been headed down this path her entire life. So Hell Or High Water lashes out with an intensity that leaves you a little short of breath, and ready to go listen again.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.