CD Odyssey Disc 1262: Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo

I’m on the first day of a four day weekend and I can’t think of a better way to start it off than with a music review.

Disc 1262 is… Despite the Snow

Artist: Emily Barker & the Red Clay Halo

Year of Release: 2008

What’s up with the Cover? The band gathers for a hug in the forest. The album suggests they are hugging despite the snow, but I feel like someone should let them know that if the snow is an issue this is possibly the worst spot for a hug. Get under the canopy!

How I Came to Know It: I discovered Emily Barker through her “Applewood Road” project (a different band, also featuring Barker). This led me to her back catalogue, both as a solo artist and backed by the Red Clay Halo. I liked what I heard, but it was devilishly hard to find these records. Finally, I ordered five – yes five – of my favourites through her Bandcamp site. Bandcamp is a great way to get albums from less well known bands, and you usually get to deal directly with the artist, which is a lot of fun.

In this case, Barker sent me a package with a personalized thank you written on the envelope, and even signed one of the records. Don’t thank me, Emily. Thank you, for making such great music.

How It Stacks Up:  I have five Emily Barker albums plus her one record recording as the group Applewood Road. Of  those (some solo, some with the Red Clay Halo), I rank “Despite the Snow” right in the middle at #3. I don’t know the other albums that well yet so I may adjust that ranking based on future experience. Only a fool doesn’t allow their opinion to change based on new experience.

Ratings: 3 stars

Emily Barker is an Australian born, English based singer-songwriter who records in an Americana folk style that had me certain she was from the United States until experience taught me otherwise. See how that works?

Regardless of where she’s from, Barker is a gifted artist who reminded me stylistically of Dar Williams and Alela Diane. She sings with an easy power, eschewing long majestic notes for a more conversational phrasing. Her voice lilts and jumps, with a bit of whimsy and otherworldliness that had me thinking of faeries and deep, mysterious forests.

Her guitar work sounds very western and while she’s no Molly Tuttle, she plays with a nice mosey that had me thinking of Johnny Cash at times. The Red Clay Halo are more than able, particularly violinist Anna Jenkins who switches between country fiddle and formal violin as the songs demand.

There is a heavy echo in the production which could be the result of the recording location, which was a 16^th century brick barn. It suits the album for the most part, although on a couple of tracks I longed for a warmer sound. I guess that’s asking a bit much from an album called “Despite the Snow”.

Barker’s compositions range from traditional folk through contemporary. The traditional songs sound timeless, and I checked twice to see if she wrote all of them. She did.

 “All Love Knows” is the record’s standout track, showcasing Barker’s vocals and guitar beautifully. Her voice climbs with an easy grace, dropping as she sings the refrain “Now I’m learning all love knows” in a way that feels like you are settling into a comfortable chair. It is a song about the thankfulness and confidence when love is new.

I also loved “The Greenway” a song with stripped down production, featuring only voice and guitar and the brick reverb of the old barn. It is about a small slice of nature in the city, and the restorative powers it holds, even surrounded as it is by concrete and graffiti. Barker sings:

“When the city’s back is turned it looks a lot like this

When a mind begins to burn it needs a place like this.”

As a small town boy livin’ in the city I get this experience well, and have a few of my own little green spaces that can restore me when I need it. This song reminds me I need to go visit them more often.

The album is a little long, featuring alternate versions of two songs that push it up to 15 songs and almost 50 minutes. I could have lived without both of those, and I’d also cut “Bright Phoebus” which has brilliant musicianship but didn’t grab me melodically or lyrically.

However, these are minor quibbles on what is an overall solid record. It makes me excited for the next time the CD Odyssey throws another Emily Barker my way.

Best tracks: All Love Knows, Disappear, Storm in a Teacup, The Greenway, Oh Journey