by James Cassara

With spring rapidly moving towards summer the volume of new releases seems to have increased. Record store day – which by the time you read these words will have passed – should only add to the fun. As always be sure to buy your music from one of the many wonderful independent record stores Asheville is so fortunate to have. They’re the ones who keep us happy!

Kevin Gordon

Gloryland

While he releases albums at what can graciously be described at a deliberate pace – Gloryland is his first in nearly eight years – Kevin Gordon must have an inexhaustible supply of ideas and intentions. In addition to his music, which despite occasional protestations to the contrary seems to remain his main gig, Gordon is an accomplished poet, fiction writer, and highly acclaimed folk artist.

Each of his various artistic expressions overlap one to the other and a comprehensive study of his work – and any such study would have to be comprehensive – reveals themes and intuitions that run throughout. When Gordon does amass enough material for a full-length disc it’s easy to imagine the paring down process as torturous. Gordon’s lyrics, as well as his melodies, are packed with so much nuance that there’s simply no way everything gets included.

For Gloryland Gordon seems to have wisely reigned in his musical ambitions. The songs are intentionally story driven – much like the mid 1960’s period Dylan that Gordon is openly in awe of – while the sturdy melodic propulsions that move them forward never get in the way.

Nowhere is this more noticeable than the ten minute coming of age epic “Colfax/Step in Time” or the equally adorned “Bus to Shreveport” in which the protagonist starts out attending a ZZ Top concert but ends embroiled in a violent street fight.

Between such density Gordon throws in a handful of exquisite ballads (“Pecolia’s Star” being the best) as well as a jaunty and philosophical “Trying to Get to Memphis.”

Gordon’s voice, which tends to echo the laid back feel of Mark Knopfler, may take a bit of getting used to but it easily become an acquired taste. It’s best suited for the bluesy rockers “Tearing It Down” or the spooky “Nine Bells” than the slower numbers; but when the singer and the song come together watch out.

The Lucinda Williams (with whom Gordon has extensively worked) meets The Rolling Stones rocker “One I Love,” buoyed by a killer guitar solo, is the album’s most cohesive moment, that magical instance where everything seems to align.

Between the discriminating lyrics and shadowy melodies, Gloryland is an album of genuine depth and resilience, one that will surely stand up to repeated listens. Given the pause between Kevin Gordon albums, that might well be its greatest strength. ****

The Decemberists

We All Raise Our Voices to the Air: Live Songs

Capitol Records

I’ll go on record as proclaiming The Decemberists the most interesting and engaging band of the past few years, so any comments made hereafter come with that caveat.

Recorded during The King Is Dead tour, in which the band was catapulted from upper middle tier to legitimate superstar status, We All Raise Our Voices to the Air manages to capture the tightness of a band clicking on all cylinders without losing any of the spontaneity that provides much of their charm.

While the band has been gradually moving towards a more direct Americana-infused sound, Raise Our Voices finds the band gingerly returning to the baroque rock sound of their first few albums. Doing so allows multi-instrumentalists Chris Funk and Jenny Conlee to really shine – dispelling the notion that The Decemberists are “Colin Meloy and a bunch of other guys” – while giving the band ample room to rework songs from all phases of their career.

And while nearly a third of the material is understandably culled from The King Is Dead (including a sublime “Down by the Water”) it is awfully nice to revisit such favorites as “The Bagman’s Gambit” and all three parts of the simply magnificent “Crane Wife” suite.

Combine the amusing (although somewhat predictable) set list with the band’s easygoing stage presence and you have an album that almost feels like a greatest-hits compilation. In short, an excellent ‘jumping on’ point for those not yet familiar with the band as well as a reaffirmation for those of us who already adore them. ****

David Olney

the Stone

Deadbeet Records

While he’s always been associated with folk music, in the three decades that he’s been making records David Olney has always drawn from a wide range of styles, primarily gut bucket rock and roll but just as likely Celtic, homespun country, and Sunday morning coming down styled gospel.

It’s this blend of styles that makes his records so accessible – there’s virtually something for everyone – yet in some ways prevents Olney from being as distinctive a figure as his talents might warrant.

His latest, The Stone is Olney’s second installment of a planned series of six-song mini-albums tied together by a specific theme: The first, Film Noir, was an attempt to set the stories of Raymond Chandler to music.

The Stone is even more ambitious, as Olney interprets the historical Christian story of Easter. As such its greatest success is in how he does so without being either excessively mawkish – a weakness of nearly all contemporary Christian music – or academically dry and tedious.

Here he takes on the multiple roles of a small-time huckster posing as a faith healer, the criminal Barabbas, a Roman centurion and (oddly enough) the donkey on which Christ entered Jerusalem.

To further complicate matters he often recasts the story into modern times, in which the “cops” drag a suspect (Jesus?) down to the station where he is interrogated and beaten.

Does all this work? For the most part, yes: Olney has always been a master of creating songs from unusual points of view (he once wrote a song about the Titanic from the perspective of the iceberg) and his hyper literate story style is well suited to such lofty goals. The arrangements are equally ambitious – augmented with some explosive orchestrations – and direct. The primary fault here is in trying to attempt too much in only a half dozen songs.

Listening to The Stone can be an exhausting experience but, if one is willing to put forth the effort, there is plenty of pay back. ***1/2

Mairi Morrison and Alasdair Roberts

Urstan

Drag City Music

I’ll pretext my comments here by admitting that I’ve little affinity for Celtic or Gaelic music, so any disc of such that comes my way faces an immediate uphill battle. But I am fully capable of seeing why others find it so arresting, and try to adjust my observations accordingly. I do enjoy a good anecdote, and in the case of Urstan the back story is nearly as interesting as the songs within.

Through the Glasgow Centre for Contemporary Arts, Alasdair Roberts, a Scottish artist and student of traditional U.K. folk music, made acquaintance with Mairi Morrison, a singer, actress, and playwright. The two immediately hit it off and made plans to collaborate on an album that would celebrate the Gaelic culture and language they both love.

The result is a collection of tunes, both traditional and written specifically for this project, that even to my skeptical ears provide some rousing and feisty listening. The more lively numbers, particularly the stompers “Larach do Thacaidean” and “Hion Dail-a Horo Hi,” employ a basic arrangement of bass, fiddle, and drums while others add flutes, whistles, and other reeds.

The traditional “Ailein Duinn” is the ancestor to the more familiar Appalachian lament “O Death” while “The Laird o’ the Drum” sounds far more like contemporary pop.

The musical affection between Roberts and Morrison is obvious, and their harmonies work together beautifully. As such Urstan is a fine addition to anyone’s Gaelic collection and not a bad way to while through a rainy weekend afternoon. ***

Bap Kennedy

The Sailor’s Revenge

Lonely Street Discs/Proper Records

One of best things about writing these reviews is coming across a musician with whom I am not familiar; given how much music I hear that’s more often than you might think, as there seems to be an infinite number of bands and performers following in the hallowed footsteps of their antecedents. It’s always a pleasant surprise and, when the musician in question turns out to be as good as is Martin (Bap) Kennedy, it’s a minor revelation.

Kennedy, the older brother of Van Morrison band member Brian, first gained a measure of success with the Belfast band Energy Orchard. He has since gained a well-deserved reputation as a solo artist writing songs for and occasionally performing with Morrison, Steve Earle, Shane MacGowan and Nanci Griffith. He also has a rather unique background, one which helps broaden the scope of his songwriting.

Kennedy possesses a diploma in Diamond Gemology (he is in fact a renowned figure in the field) while his wife is a songwriter, attorney, and has written a number of children’s books. Such diverse experiences certainly color his writing but, as Sailor’s Revenge aptly demonstrates, Kennedy is no stranger to matters of the heart.

Co-produced by Mark Knopfler the album is a finely tuned, assured collection of 11 new songs. Much of it echoes Knopfler’s own work, particularly his soundtracks, but Kennedy is a strong enough artist to easily stand on his own. The tracks are well written, the singing is solid but unspectacular, and the musicianship first class – unsurprising, since Jerry Douglas, James Walbourne, and Dire Straits keyboardist Guy Fletcher are among those playing. Special praise, too, for Michael McGoldrick, who is stunning on flutes, pipes and whistle.

But it’s Kennedy who is the real star of the show. He’s a nimble songwriter who, much like Morrison, can cover soul, country and folk with ease. He’s also smart enough to not try and emulate Van the Man’s otherworldly style (as if anyone could!) while wisely knowing his own vocal limits.

All the songs are of high quality with “Jimmy Sanchez” and the title track being the clear stand outs, which makes for a finished effort that is well worth seeking out. Even more so is the double disc version, which adds another dozen tracks, culled from Kennedy’s previous (and less assured) studio releases.

It’s not hard to see why Morrison, Griffith, and a host of other talents hold Bap Kennedy in such high regard. One listen and I was hooked enough to go back and seek out the back catalog. ****

Patrick Watson

Adventures in Your Own Backyard

Domino Records

By all reports Canadian Patrick Watson’s performance was *the* surprise hit of this year’s SXSW music gathering. On the heels of that show (which, alas, I was not there to see) is his new album, which just might be what’s needed to raise Watson to that next level up.

Although born in California Watson was raised in Hudson, Quebec. He began singing in the local church choirs as a boy, studying jazz and classical piano performance, composition, and arrangement, and by high school was singing and playing keyboards in the ska band Gangster Politics.

After leaving that band Watson began to explore other types of music, including ambient electronica. In 2002, after returning from a trip to southeast Asia – where he was naturally influenced by the music he heard – Watson started a four-piece chamber pop group, developed around bass, guitar, percussion, and his own sublime piano work.

The resultant Adventures, the fourth full length effort by the band that bears his name, sounds like nothing else you’re likely to hear in 2012. The opening “Lighthouse” imagines Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” recast as a Mexican waltz while the upbeat “Into Giants” sounds a bit like a countrified version of Arcade Fire.

The music is generally haunting, frequently unsettling and often feels like an awkward dream that might just be really happening. But it is also surprisingly affecting, never predictable, and in its own challenging fashion highly rewarding. In short it lives up to its name, a wild sonic adventure that feels right at home.

This is one of those few records that largely defy description; I’d suggest sampling a few tracks from his website before deciding if Adventures in Your Own Backyard is for you. As for this reviewer, it is one of those quirky bits of sweetly discordant noise that I am more than delighted to have stumbled upon. ***