Goin’ Down Slow
Nov/Dec 2016
Once again, we find ourselves
at the tail-end of another year. The older one gets, it seems, the faster time
seems to fly – indeed, another 12 months done and dusted, another year older. A
year wiser? The jury’s still out on that one.
One thing of which I am
certain however, is that this year has been a good one for music. A slew of
fantastic records have passed over my desk these 12 months just gone, and so
I’ve been inundated with the finest sounds from all around, perhaps one reason
the year has run by so quickly.
Given this year I actually
kept a list (tacked to the pinboard above my desk), tracking releases I thought
were top-notch, here then are my favourites from 2016, in no particular order.
Black Stone Cherry’s Kentucky caught my ear
first up, hard and heavy southern rock. My first contact with this band, and
I’m reliably informed their earlier material is even better – I’ll get on to
that. Freakwater, whose twisted take
on Americana hit me via Scheherazade, were a revelation. These
guys have been about since the late ‘80s, and time has not dulled their power.
Americana was quite a theme
for me this year, with records from the Weeping
Willows (Before Darkness Comes A-Callin’); Halfway (The Golden Halfway
Record); and Tracy McNeil & The
GoodLife (Thieves) getting solid
airplay in my office. The Willows is straight up Americana, two part harmonies,
stripped and simple, a great album. Halfway’s effort, their fifth, leant more
towards trad country, a definite smart rock injection. Tracy McNeil went from
strength to strength, her third record imbued with a distinct West Coast vibe,
Laurel Canyon and that sort of thing.
Fanny Lumsden (Small Town Big Shot, which has just been
nominated for an ARIA); Amarillo (Eyes Still Fixed); and Sean McMahon (Shiner) all produced excellent albums too, all with hints of
Americana, but all adding something else to this burgeoning sub-genre.
McMahon’s is a contender for guitar album of the year, while exemplary
songwriting defines Amarillo’s release, with Lumsden combining both a country
and pop nous to really nail her debut.
Sweet Jean’s
second effort, Monday To Friday, was
a pearler, containing perhaps the song of the year in ‘Main Street’, Alice
Keath’s vocals undeniable. In researching for my story on the 25th
anniversary of Fat Possum Records, I came across Seratones and their debut, Get
Gone. A real mish-mash of rootsy sounds, set to a throbbing beat, solid.
I was also sent the debut
cut, S.I.X, by Ballarat artist Matt Malone. This one came from left
field and left me stunned – A “unique fusion of the traditional and
avant-garde” is how it was described, which was on the money. ‘Dissonant,
cracked, haunted’ is how I then described it in the subsequent review, a
fantastic record that was far from perfect, which is exactly what made it
virtually so.
The last couple of records
(or perhaps they should be described as rekkids), are in a similar vein in that
they both stem from virtually the same place – some dusty honky tonk somewhere
in Texas. One literally does – Dale
Watson’s Live At The Big T Roadhouse
is a recording of him and his Lonestars playing Big T’s in St. Hedwig, Texas.
Not only do they chug through a huge set, but Watson also calls the Chicken
Shit Bingo, as well as making up jingles for Lone Star beer – it’s pure honky
tonk gold.
The other is the new cut from
Wayne ‘The Train’ Hancock, Slingin’ Rhythm. This is a lesson in
western swing, taught by the master himself. It bucks and writhes, swings and
swoons, his band are killer and he’s the real deal.
So, particularly with these
last two albums, stock up on cold brew (none of that craft business…), turn ‘em
up and finish the year on a high – that’s exactly what I’ll be doing.
Samuel J. Fell
(@SamuelJFell)
Samuel J. Fell’s debut book, Stars &
Hype – First Time Notes On The American Deep South is now available via www.samueljfell.blogspot.com
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