7/15/19

Local Strangers, Kristina Murray, VanWyk, Rupa Marya, Noaccordion


The Local Strangers, Complete Catalog

If you're unaware of the Seattle-based Local Strangers fronted by Aubrey Zoli and Matt Hart, you’ve got a treat in store. They are often classified as Americana, which in their case means they’re a bit of everything. TLS has released their back catalogue material. There's lots to sample and if you don’t find something to love, you just don’t like music. “Hunted by Ghosts” has a sufficiently spooky feel with a melody that's sort of string band-meets-small combo. The operative phrase is “sort of,” because Zoli and Hart run the acoustic gamut; when they meld with their touring band, they also tilt the rock and folk rock machines. “Devil and a Stiff Drink” is a "sort of" country rock badass song, but “Mr. Blackberry” is a handclap ditty that could be something from the 1940s filtered through electric noise that skirts cacophony. Zoli is bold and in command on “Chasethe Battle,” which evokes the pretty to let-‘er-rip style of Maura Kennedy. On “Uptown,” Hart takes the lead on an impressive song that’s and indie rock/folk hybrid. Listen to the white keys on that one. What else? How about the harmonies and folk gospel feel of “Daniel,” a community sing-along in real time?  The acid surf guitar intro to “Red Dress” also sounds like it’s borrowed from another time, though its chorus is now. “Always Me” is a shitkicker, but there's also the emotional “Letter to My Love,” complete with cello and horns. This is a wonderful ensemble and Audrey Zoli is the real deal. ★★★★
 
Kristina Murray, Southern Ambrosia

Kristina Murray writes new songs in classic country and Southern rock style. Her alto, slightly nasal voice is evocative of Nanci Griffith, as is her flair for pastoral tracks such as “Strong Blood” and “Pink Azaleas,” the last a collection of nostalgic childhood memories. She can also spin a good story, as she does in “Ballad of Angel and Donnie,” which was inspired by reading of the meth bust of two folks living on the razor’s edge. The project’s attention-grabber, “Made in America,” features cool guitar hooks and is about another life-on-the-margins character that grew up fighting, drinking, praying, and scrapping by. ★★★

VanWyck, An Average Woman

This one is tough to evaluate. Christien VanWyck is a Dutch singer whose 11-track An Average Woman is so moody that I immediately thought of Leonard Cohen. When I sought information on her, it turned out everyone else has also made the Cohen (and Laura Marling) connection. The multiple threads of the title track lie with hearing of a teen girl’s suicide, discussing acceptance with a therapist friend, and reading a novel about a girl’s disappearance and her parents’ inability to describe her to the police because she was so “average.” It's also an ironic opener, as most of the album spotlights strong women. For instance, if you know Titian’s masterpiece “The Rape of Europa,” you can imagine VanWyck’s take on “Europa Escapes.” But the rub is that each track track on this album has the same pace: slow. “Europa Escapes” at least has some reverb guitar, but that's as close as we get to a pace change. I admired VanWyck’s lyrics and voice, but the arrangements make it difficult to differentiate one song from another. You know–a lot like Leonard Cohen’s early work. Try tracks such as the echoing “Red River Girl,” the soulful “Don't Talk to the Captain,” and her amazing small voice catch in “By the Oak Tree.”  I yearned for more moments such as these. ★★½

Rupa and the April Fishes, Growing Upward

If this band name perplexes you, Rupa Marya fronts a six-piece band and April Fishes is a translation of the French les poissons d'avril, a French April 1 prank of sticking paper fish on the back of unsuspecting victims. Rupa is a Bay Area fireball who sings in English, French, Spanish, and Hindi. Her eclectic band is often dubbed "global alternative" as it's a mix of jazz, rock, and chanson, with splashes of reggae and punk. I've heard this band and admire much of what they do, but was underwhelmed by Growing Upward. "Where You From" is emblematic; the recording balance isn't loud but still feels overstuffed. Ditto "Water Song," which as so much drone-like ambience that it flattens Marya's vocals. "Yelamu (We Are Still Here)" throws everything but the kitchen sink at you: chants, background lead vocals, trumpet, snippets of a newscast, and Guillermo Gomez Peña reading a human rights declaration. Nice idea, but it gets in its own way. This album is much stronger when it keeps things simple, as in the Caribbean-meets-Cajun "Ena Mena Deeka," which is like a washboard song without the namesake percussion. "Frontline" is also a good song. It has oomph of R and B and sexy trumpet that supplements Rupa's swaying rhythms. Throughout the album I wanted more Rupa and less of the mess. ★★

Noaccordion, Surrender

An old joke holds there is no form of music that can't be improved by the deletion of an accordion. Polka, Celtic, and Cajun bands would disagree. So would Onah Indigo, the Bay Area performance artist who spearheads the Noaccordion project. "Project" is indeed the best way to describe Indigo's vision. The "no" part of her music reminded me of Japanese "noh" theater in that it is grounded, minimalist, and exotic to those who've never before encountered it. Indigo's "Surrender" evolved from Indigo's recovery from intense back pain. The squeezebox can be hard on backs, and apparently she had plenty of time to think. Noaccordion–and Indigo does play one, as well as keys–is performance art merged with bold experimentation and musical pastiche. "Goodness RiseAgain" features trumpet, plus the reggae/funk vocals of Spencer Garret Burton; yet in "Grow" we hear Indigo reaching into operatic range. In "Another Way," heavy drone-like bass sets a Gothic foundation for accordion parading as fiddle. "Quick Time" is ironically named. It would invoke descriptors such as funereal and elegiac were it not for the beat box percussion. "Lessons" has been labeled "glitch hop," and that's a pretty good handle. The final track, "Allies," is piano, bass, bang-the-can percussion, and buried wraithlike vocals, but also makes us feel that Indigo has found simpatico peeps. This project strikes me as a more successful venture onto turf upon which Rupa Marya stumbled. I warn you, though, that Noaccordion is not for everyone. It's decidedly a walk on the unorthodox side. Check out the official video for "Trouble" (not on the album) and you'll see what I mean. ★★★½

Rob Weir

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