rootsofthepinetree

# 11

Riley Catherall – I Don’t Remember

My heart warms thinking back to the summer of 2017 when I travelled USA for two months with my best friend, living out of a GMC Envoy 2001. Many mornings were spent in local coffee-shops, preferably the ones that played some sweet country music to slowly wake us up in the scorching July sun. Truly a special feeling. It seems that our memories are stored as emotions deep within us, seeing that I just had that old feeling again.

Riley Catherall is an Americana influenced singer-songwriter based in Melbourne, Australia and he just released his first full album ‘When I Go’. The first track on the record is called ‘I Don’t Remember’ and I’ve set my eyes on that song since it brought me back so viscerally to the roads of America. Americana isn’t just a music genre; it’s a feeling and Riley Catherall has got it.  

The sound of electric guitar played in reverse isn’t a sound that you hear a lot these days, but that is how this song starts. Another electric guitar quickly takes it’s place, strumming for half a measure before Riley comes in with the vocal. The guitar sound is awesome and fits perfectly in the sonic landscape that Catherall is going for. It’s slightly distorted in the sense that the amplifier is turned up just the right amount for the job.

Speaking of Riley’s vocals. They blow you away in such a pleasant way. The first 6 seconds of the song provide the expectation that it is gonna be of the quiet kind in terms of sheer volume. Then the vocals enter, soaring very loud in the mix which they absolutely deserve. The melody is sweet and, and it didn’t hurt that he used it again for the second line of the verse. The real magic happens in the fourth line though. It’s the medicine, the baptism, the sweet joy of an angel band. It’s a three-part harmony consisting of the lead vocal, a female singing above, and a lower vocal as well, melting together into the greatest sound known to mankind. Or just someone that really likes vocal harmonies.

Come second verse we have the return of the reversed guitar and the addition of acoustic guitar more or less playing the same thing as it’s electric counterpart. It fills up the space that was there before and acts nicely as a substitute for a bass that isn’t anywhere to be heard. There is a certain grit to the deep notes of the acoustic that’s really cool here. Things actually pick up quite rapidly from here with both slide guitar, banjo and the second greatest sound know to man, the Hammond organ of course. I really like how the song got to breathe in the first half, making room for the beautiful vocal harmonies and Riley’s immensely strong vocals, but also that they weren’t afraid to add in more stuff towards the end. I guess it was done in disciplined manner, there was no unnecessary extracurricular activity going on and that is so mature and important when playing these kinds of songs in my opinion.

After a heavenly bride section, the song strongly marches towards a tasteful ending.

So… I guess it got pretty darn long this time eh? Well, it’s hard to restrain yourself when music is this good. Especially when it captures that special Americana vibe so perfectly that all I can think of is sitting in some weird little coffee-shop in Oregon listening to this song as I wake up getting ready to hit the road one more time. 

/JN

Links:

NUMBER 10

Nicky Phillips - Home

 If home is a feeling, then I feel perfectly at home listening to Nicky Phillips’ latest release called just that. For one because I strongly relate to the lyrics as I find myself in a similar place in life, starting a family, slowly building a nest and being quite happy about it in the meantime. On the other hand, it is just one of those nice and simple indie-folk songs with just the right amount of spice, that it fits right up my alley.

We begin with the pulse of a western guitar alternating between the same two notes with an occasional hammer-on. In comes a very nice electric guitar with a warmth and dryness I really like, it’s that old sound you know. The bass comes in for a short appearance to warm up to the moment of Nicky’s voice entering. A perfect voice for this kind of music if you ask me. It is quite light and fragile but seasoned with the kind of maturity that most only wish for. And by fragile I don’t mean weak. It might be more precise to say that Nicky gives off the impression of fragility in her vocals, which makes for a nice effect.

The bass and electric guitar return before the chorus, this time the guitar paints a nice ambient picture with some tremolo. There is a bunch ambient stuff going on in the background that I can’t quite put my finger on (variations of electric guitar perhaps), but I quite enjoy the percussion-less space that Nicky is building here. Her acoustic guitar completely makes up for it being the only constant driver of rhythm in the song.

My favorite part of the song is the line where she sings “we’ll call it home”, the only line in the song where she uses backing vocals, which makes it such a strong effect. Furthermore, they are very low in the mix, and with the fairy-dust of music that reverb is, it makes for a great line.

It is a brief little tune, and after a bridge that leads straight into that favorite line of mine, the song ends with Nicky singing that line by herself, with just the right amount of lightness and perceived fragility (wink wink).

Nicky Phillips is a singer-songwriter born in London.  

 /JN

 Links:

Spotify – Nicky Phillips

Nicky Phillips | Facebook

Leila Marie – Forest Gold

Trees have always been a cornerstone in the symbolic landscape of music, and I think you can argue that they hold a special place in the specific tradition of singer-songwriting. The tradition of the genre has a built-in aesthetic perhaps due to the instruments we most often see associated with it. The acoustic guitar, the piano, and all sorts of percussion all share the very important ingredient of wood. I think that’s a large part of why many musicians feel deeply connected to the forest in some way or another. And when they sit there under the canopy, the sunlight slips in between the leaves and ignites the flame of inspiration.

Forest Gold is a song from Leila Marie’s recent EP release ‘colors’.

The song begins with the rhythm of a syncopated finger-style guitar. Firm like footsteps they lead us into the forest where Leila’s voice emerges, turning the woods into it’s own grand hall of wet reverb. Around the half-minute mark, the gentle notes of a violin chimes in, perhaps being the sunlight slipping through her fingers, it fits very delicately into the mix.

If you thought the song lacked some percussive elements, they were given to you just before going into what I believe to be chorus. They are played in this majestic way that has become quite popular with singer-songwriters such as Ben Howard and alike, where you play heavy on the bass drum, while brushing over the snare and toms in a syncopated feel. Leaving the hi-hat out of the equation gives a lot of breathing room to a song like this which is a very nice touch.

Leila also adds in multiple vocal tracks to support her lead line, more like layers of ambience rather than a regular backing vocal, effectively painting the full picture of being out in the woods taking in all the subtleties of nature. There are two really cool moments showcasing these background vocals. At the 2:10 mark the choir hits this dissonant note (minor 7 for the nerds) in a weirdly pleasant way, leading nicely into the next melody line. Then at 2:57 the angelic backing group (seemingly Leila herself) hit an ascending melody line with three simple yet powerful notes, and the intensity level of the whole arrangement picks up for the final part of the song. It’s quite impactful and a clever way of tying everything together.

All in all, it is a great production and I quite enjoy how the different elements of the arrangement are one by one stripped away in the outro. It is almost like walking out of the forest again feeling more at peace than when we entered.

Leila Marie is a singer-songwriter from Cleveland, Ohio.

 /JN

 https://open.spotify.com/track/22aTC2eUzJjWokK33rD8dX?si=0e37b502034943ed

NUMBER 8

Songs of Boda – Pocket Call

Whether your friends pick up the phone or not when you call is an effective way to test the strength of your bond. Obviously if there is a reasonably quick text or call-back, forgiveness is in order. Daniel Skoglund or “Songs of Boda” seemingly has some good people in his life, as he is currently showing gratitude through his newest release ‘Pocket Call’, to all the friends who picked up the phone when he didn’t even mean to call.

I had to go back to my Swedish neighbors for this review. As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, Sweden has such an abundance of talent in the genre of roots music, and it did not take me long to find Songs of Boda while scouring the interwebs for that sweet Swedish sound.  The name itself piqued my interest, “Songs of Boda”, it sounds like it could be an old songbook of the hobbits or even the dwarves in some Tolkien-related universe. But before I travel too deep into the mines of Moria, let me share my thoughts on the music.

‘Pocket Call’ is a very pleasant piece of Scandinavian soul music that calms my body and opens my eye to the beauty of being alive.

We start off with a soothing back and forth rocking of two chords of Wurlitzer electric piano. An ambient keyboard lures in the background and in comes the lush humming of Skoglund’s voice. Soulfully warming up to the moment of impact when the band enters, and the first verse begins. The drums are nice and tight, while still maintaining a nice breath to them. If you listen to the work on the snare drum, you pick up some cool little details like the marching quality of the ghost notes.

There is also this nice call and response thing going on with Skoglund’s voice and some high-pitched lead guitar. There are two verses before the chorus comes, so after he sings the lines “I’ll be hollering at you” and “Sizzle in your voicemail” you hear these little responses from the guitar. They are sort off light and jumpy, and they really help bind the lines together.

Going into the chorus the drums give the signal to slow everything down, Skoglund comes in with the vocal, and things quickly get back up to speed. This was quite unexpected, and as I was peacefully enjoying the flow of the song, it made me focus a lot more on the chorus than if it had not happened.

These guys have done such a nice and thorough job with all the little details that makes this a high-end production overall. The rock fan in me was treated with an old-school guitar solo in the latter parts of the song. The overall intensity rises with the subtle addition of background vocals and a new guitar riff being the main driver of the build-up.

I could easily spend a couple more hours going into detail of why I think this is a kick-ass song, but this is already the longest review I’ve done so far so let me wrap things up for you guys.

I can highly recommend checking out the other stuff ‘Songs of Boda’ has been putting out there. Especially ‘Iago’ (2018) and ‘Where My Hands Might Go’ (2015). Through those songs you really get to see the variety in his sound.  

Spotify – Songs of Boda

Krogen – Jimmi med ild i

What do you do when you wake up to the devil himself congratulating you for your admirable behavior, while granting you another day to live? Well, you put on your ripped up leather jacket, squeeze your blue jeans up under your whisky-belly, put on your boots with no regard to the shoelaces that are no longer there, and you party like the god-forsaken, country-boogie lovechild bastard that you are. That’s Jimmi for you ladies and gentlemen.

For the seventh review of this blog we must go to Aarhus, Denmark where we find singer-songwriter Lasse Krog and his new country-rock project KROGEN (direct English translation: The Hook). As of yet Krogen has released two singles, and today I will be giving my take on his latest release ‘Jimmi med ild I’ which translates into ‘Jimmi on fire’.  

We start right of with a fairly generic blues rhythm, with the whole band chiming in right away telling you that they mean business, and that this party needs no warming up. And only six seconds in we are treated with the slightly distorted lead vocal of Krogen. It’s fast-paced, rugged and very rhythmic, as he blends the monotony of singing the same note for a long time, while accentuating the off-beat in the vocal-line.

The session-band is rock-solid and there is everything you could ask for in terms of instrumentation for this kind of genre. The humble driving force of the drum-kit, the locomotive bass, twangy guitars, timeless piano licks giving off smoky saloon vibes (I’m a sucker for that shit), blues harp and saxophone giving it that little extra at the end.

‘Jimmi med ild I’ is just an absolutely banger of a party from start to finish. Never slowing down, never trying to be cute with dynamics, and unapologetically playing with the lyrical cliché of man’s relationship with the devil as he burns through the road of life on gasoline,

Usually, I would go into more detail on the development of the song, but I feel no need to do that in this case. Instead, I would like to say how surprised I am that I am finding myself rocking along with a big stupid smile on my face, listening to a song that I feel like I have heard a million times before. That’s the thing with this kind of music, whether it’s blues, country, folk or whatever falls into the broad category of roots music. The power of a lead singer is so strong that these grooves, licks, and chord-progressions can be recycled until the end of time, as long as the singer-songwriter is willing to infuse a little piece of his soul into the music.

I am very excited to see what Krogen is gonna offer in the future, being a resident of Aarhus myself, I look forward to a gig with these guys, beer in hand and a big stupid smile on my face.  

/JN

Spotify – Krogen

Lena Minder – Stay Around

It looks like we are going back to Berlin to look into one of many talented artists coming out of ‘The Famous Gold Watch Studios’.

Today I will be focusing on Lena Minder, a Swiss native, who like many before her made the move to Berlin to cultivate her talents. Earlier this year she released the song ‘Stay Around’ and I love it.

The song begins with the softness of a Spanish guitar, waltzing away at the chords rocking back and forth. Through the natural chord progression and descending bassline, we fall into the strange company of Lena’s distant voice. It’s beautiful, it’s pretty, and it feels as if her voice is coming from an old radio speaker in the corner of the room. The production aspect is really cool here, and it’s full of good musical choices when it comes to how Lena’s vocals are served. The effect of shrouding them is nice, but it also leaves you wanting more, and more is served swiftly as Lena is joined by her own angelic backing vocals, soaring like strings over the lead melody of the chorus.

In the second verse the misty texture of her voice is back, but this time she dubs the melody, adding another color to the canvas of her beautiful painting. When the second chorus comes to an end, the chord progression moves to a darker place, and the vocal arrangement is on full display. There’s two melody lines in the middle, one is high and light like a lead violin, the other is darker, playing nicely up against the lead melody like a cello would. Then you have additional choir panned to each side, rhythmically chiming in with this spicy tremolo effect. Again, the production level of the vocals cannot be understated.

Something really surprising happens towards the final third of the song. As we think we are firmly seated in Lena’s musical universe she pulls out a joker card from her back pocket. Cymbals, strumming guitar, and the magical light touches of acoustic piano are brought into the mix. It’s strange and surprising cause there was no build up to it at all. As suddenly as we were brought to this fairytale landscape, we are torn right out of it after about 25 seconds. It’s a risky move, but it works, and perhaps it was the journey she had to go on to bring back something of great value to her. For as we return there is new color on the canvas, namely the deep bass of a male voice.

Perhaps this is the person she was singing to all along, begging him to stay around in spite of the changing of time, or perhaps I’m reading way too much into it, and it was just for the sake of putting something nice in the mix towards the end.

In the end I’m left with a smile on my face, because I finally found some really high-quality folkish music, with spectacular female vocals and impeccable moments of harmony. For me it’s the best of its kind since The Staves, and that is saying a lot.

Sometimes you discover things that upon first inspection seem like they fit within a framework you already understand. But when you stick around for a while you are taken by surprise, and you realize that it is in fact its own thing.

Elliott Ok is definitely his own artist, and ‘Snap! (The End)’ is his only released song as of yet.

Everything leading up to the first chorus surely fits within a framework I already understand; the steady strum of a western guitar, a kick/snare drum beat, bass guitar, and a subtle low volume backing vocal, dubbing the words of Elliott’s lead vocal. I really enjoy the level of production on display here, especially the stereo effect of the acoustic guitar making it sound really big. And every other detail is really cared for in the mixing department, which I assume is Elliott’s own doing.

A slide guitar enters at the 44 second mark, bridging the gap between the verse and a chorus that sounds really strange, cool, and pleasant at the same time. From a rhythmic perspective, the first two sentences of the chorus are very rigid and fast compared to the flow of the verse, where the words play more naturally to your ears. The sudden change of dynamics takes you by surprise and leaves you in the dust, only to be picked up again by the last line of the chorus, where things sound a little more normal again.

I was equally taken aback by the blue note in the chorus melody. “There’s apple trees and sugar snap peas”. When he comes down from the arpeggio and sings the word “and” he hits a note you’re not really supposed to hit (the minor 3rd), obviously it’s a deliberate choice and it works out really well, especially when you listen to the song again. It’s just a really cool and intricate little move, but it completely floored me when I heard it the first time. Whether you know basic music theory or not, I think you know what I’m talking about. If not, I just wasted a minute of your time that you will never get back, and for that I am sorry.

The slide guitar is tastefully played throughout the whole song, especially in the chorus where it leads the rhythm section from one chord to the next. It also gets its own time to shine on a couple of occasions. Specifically, during the outro where it goes a little bit off the rails, stuffing some bluesy licks in your face before the band abruptly decides to call it a day. I guess the song isn’t called ‘Snap! (The End)’ for nothing.

There is a peculiar vibe to the song where it almost feels like it could be the soundtrack to ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ or something alike. I didn’t know that being born and bred in small hippy town in central California had a sound, but now I know exactly what that sounds like.

I feel stuck in no man’s land after spending so much time on this song, not being able to explore more of Elliott’s music. But from what I can read in his Spotify bio, there should me more on the way. I will be waiting.

Snap! The End.

The scene is set, you are in a state of blissful ignorance. The birds are chirping, the leaves rustling, and the sun is playfully darting through the cracks of a sky filled with the whitest of clouds. Your eyes are closed, and as you lay there on the grass you hear footsteps approaching from the gravel road next to you. As the steps grow louder you are forced to open your eyes and look up.

‘Nothing on a Truth’ is a 2020 single by Northern Irish alt-folk singer-songwriter Mark Loughrey who currently lives in Berlin.

‘Nothing on a Truth’ feels like being approached by a travelling stranger, who sits you down and tells you about all the far-away lands he has seen. But instead of boring you with words he puts you under a spell and lets you live the whole tale yourself.

Loughry plays with your genre expectations on a couple of different levels. You think you are about to sit back and soak in some pleasant, soundscapey whale song. That is quickly interrupted by the firm strum of a western guitar, now we must surely be in folk-land. Again, you are wrong, as the dramatic string-section flies in from a Hong Kong martial arts film.

Drums fall into the mix playing heavy on the ride cymbal, before tightening up the whole arrangement to present us with Loughrey’s narrative, almost spoken-word like vocals. You have to wait a whole minute before he sings, but it doesn’t matter, because the build-up is so well written and executed.

It is so beautiful and satisfying when all these elements come together to take you on this fairytale of a song. It ebbs and flows, the different instruments falling in and out on occasion, really playing with the dynamics of the whole experience.

The song reaches its pinnacle at 2.42, where the strings majestically take over, giving you that special Chinese martial arts movie vibe. When you have been so high, you have to come back down, even here the level of songwriting and arranging Is on point. The strings play their last melody, and we return to the ethereal soundscape from which we began this journey.

It’s astonishing to me how Sweden keeps coming up as the single country outside of the US that just keeps spitting out amazing folk-rock records. There seems to be an engrained culture of respecting the tradition of rootsy music, ranging from the other-worldly finger-picking country-folk of Tallest Man on Earth to the rugged minimalistic folk-blues of Daniel Norgren. However, even though these guys do heavy duty maintenance on the framework of these loosely labeled genres, they manage to cement themselves as unique voices of their own.

The freshest voice coming out of the Swedish folk-factory is the soulful humming of Arvid Nero.

Back in 2019 I had the pleasure of seeing Arvid perform in person at the famed SPOT Festival in Aarhus. Playing in one of the dark-lit concert halls of Aarhus, Arvid’s down to earth, yet confident presence was a strange juxtaposition to the amazing weather and all-around carnival vibe going on outside the walls of the stage. Just as his personality that day, his song ‘Out Of The Blue’ serves as a refreshing contrast to what is being played on the radio these days.

Arvid kicks off with some shy electric guitar, nicely dubbing one of his vocal lines before the drums, bass and electric piano join in, filling the void of one of the tastiest breaks I have heard in a while. There isn’t really more to say about the instrumentation as it stays the same for the rest of the song, but that is in and of itself a major compliment to the songwriting and the presence of mind of his band. There is no overplaying going on from anybody, necessitating other instruments or background vocals to back up the song.

Don’t even get me started on Arvid’s singing. It is so god damn soulful and pleasant. It is in control of the whole thing at all times, it never wanders to places where it doesn’t belong, and the occasional vibrato is all the spice you need to stay engaged in the song.

The experience of listening is so organic, and the way Arvid’s vocals seem to control every move of the band, makes me quite convinced that they recorded this live, which requires real synergy from the band.

Even though I began this review by referencing other Swedish artists before even mentioning Arvid’s name, there is no doubt in my mind that he firmly stands on his own two feet in the whole wide world of singer-songwriters.

Imagine you are sitting in a theater. You are surrounded by hundreds of fellow audience members, but you cannot see them. Not even their silhouettes demand the attention of your eyes, because all you can see is the stage. There is an actress, going through the most harrowing part of her monologue. The spotlight follows her descent into madness.

You leave the dark theatre, the sun blinds you, and the trivialities of the real world hit you in the face as you are now left to make sense of what you just witnessed.

‘Terrible Broadway Play’ is a dark-folk song that left me with a feeling I haven’t felt since listening to ‘Exit Music (For a Film)’ by Radiohead for the first time. A sense of seriousness, sorrow, tragedy and beauty all mixed together to create a complex and unsettling vibe that is not quick to leave your body.

As we dive into the musical arrangement of the song, we notice some interesting things at play. The drums are heavy on the reverb, giving you a sense of being in a large hall or even a theater. They play a simple yet firm rhythm, and with the use of the brushes they lay a solid foundation without overpowering the guitar, delicately finger-picking the chords. The guitar is clear and close, making it a complete counterpart to the airy drums.

Above the steady rhythm is Mone’s beautifully unpredictable vocals. They float effortlessly when they want to, only to occasionally jump when you least expect it. Like the actress on stage, interrupting her monologue to scream at the roof. Listening to the song over and over again, you see structure in the madness. However, listening for the first time is a chaotic experience, in the best way possible.

Eerie ambience and a glorious cinematic string section joins in to the put the final nail in the coffin. Do yourself a favor and watch the video for a horror-like surprise, very well acted out by Mone. 

‘Terrible Broadway Play’ is the fourth single-release by Mone and also the first song to be revealed from her upcoming 2021 album ‘Crocodile Kisses’. 

..’this life ain’t what I thought’...

This simple, yet profound line tells you all you need to know about this beautiful indie-rock song. ‘I’m in My Twenties and I’m Already Bored’ is the opening tune of Wolfroys 2020 EP ‘My Lack of Ambition’, and it is a fitting way to introduce the release as a whole.

The song begins with lush electric guitar, humbly strumming away at the first chords with the feel of a rocking chair moving slowly but steadily back and forth. They are all major chords, happy chords, as we are taught early on when learning the foundations of music. But this intro does not bring forth happiness or glee, rather, you get the impression that whoever is sitting there in the rocking chair is wise beyond his years, and he is telling you a story the only way he knows how to tell it: through the framework of the simplest and most commonly known tools in every singer-songwriters toolbox, the 1, the 4 and the 5 chord. Even though Wolfroy is not blazing any trails with these chords, something feels different, and I’m not quite sure what it is.

Perhaps it is the piano that is also there from the beginning, gracefully playing arpeggios that dance lightly above the rock-solid rhythm guitar playing. Perhaps it is the way it leads you along from one chord to the next. If you were standing in a meadow, the piano must surely be the elves at the edge of the forest, calling you to join them.

Or perhaps it is just the fact that Wolfroy sounds like he really means what he sings. Singer-songwriters generally operate within a similar harmonic framework, making it all the more difficult to stand out. Wolfroy is literally outstanding from the moment he first moves his lips.

When the first chorus reaches its conclusion, some strange reverby ambience joins the simple arrangement. It sounds like strings, it sounds like guitar, it sounds like high-pitched unintelligible choir. It’s hard to say exactly what is going on, but it’s beautiful, and I think it’s the elves succeeding in their attempt to bring you into their forest. You walk with them, and your senses are tickled by all the strange sounds and the bright lights surrounding you. Then it happens, the drums enter the soundscape and everything is clear, you have reached the middle of the forest, and you can sit down and soak it all in.

With the exception of a tasty melodic backing vocal, we more or less stay here for the remainder of the song. The groove moves steadily towards the finish line and the words repeat, reaffirming the ‘No BS’ approach to lyricism displayed by Wolfroy. He is in his twenties and he is already bored, that’s all he wants to say. That makes this song a profound opener to the EP.