I’m having
a surreal day today, as I deal with life events that I don’t feel ready to
share right now. On tough days like this I like to fill any quiet time in my
head with either a lot of work or a lot of words; sometimes both.
So if what
follows feels kind of like any other review, or makes you wonder just how
distracted I am, well, that’s kind of the point. Or as Tennyson once put it in “In
Memoriam”:
“But,
for the unquiet heart and brain,
A use
in measured language lies;
The sad
mechanic exercise,
Like
dull narcotics, numbing pain.”
Other
people’s words help too, I guess.
Disc 1379 is…. Forever
and Then Some
Artist:
Lillie Mae
Year of Release: 2017
What’s up with the
Cover?
Another Giant Head Cover. This one has Lillie Mae staring very intently at me
and I’m not gonna lie; I like it.
How I Came To Know
It: I
heard about Lillie Mae through her 2019 album “Other Girls” and this was just
me drilling through her back catalogue.
How It Stacks Up: I have two Lillie Mae
albums, and if you’re a careful reader you’ll already know what they are. Of
the two, “Forever and Then Some” comes in at #2.
Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4
This album had a disadvantage in that it came to me at a time that I was
heavily distracted by life. As a result it played to me through a bit of a haze
and never really sank in the way it might have if I’d heard it under better circumstances.
That said, a record’s gotta stand on its own two feet, regardless of
circumstances. Art doesn’t get to choose when it comes your way and in the case
of the Odyssey, I rarely get to choose when I seek out any particular album.
“Forever and Then Some” is a solid alt country record that makes me hope
that Lillie Mae is around making music for a long time. It has a slow mosey to
it that goes so far to even get to the edge of “country” and look out onto the
edges of “western” on the horizon. It isn’t the subject matter that does this,
but rather an overall sound that evokes worn wooden floorboards and long cinematic
John Ford shots looking through farmhouse doors at desolate desert vistas.
Lillie Mae’s vocals are full of grit and hurt. They won’t bowl you over
with power or range, but they’ll dig deep nonetheless, scraping away at you down
in your bones. She sings about hurt, heartache and hard living and she comes
away as authentic every time.
She’s at her best when she’s singing about regret and bad luck. “Wash
Me Clean” is a song that speaks of the metaphorical grime that builds up
over the years. While the song is mostly mournful, there is a strange hope in
there, exemplified by the undulating melody that has a bit of a Rankin Family
feel, if the Rankins sang less about rural barn dances and more about the
hangover the morning after.
The musicianship on the record is exemplary. Lillie Mae is a member of
the Rische family. They toured for many years as a band called Jypsi, and all
that playing time translates to a sound that is both organic and precise. Noteworthy
is the mandolin playing of sister Scarlett Rische, but Lillie Mae is no slouch
on the fiddle either. The two of them do all the songwriting as well, with
Lillie Mae writing most of the songs solo, and Scarlett helping out on two or
three. The harmonies are what you’d expect from sisters that have played music
together all their life: sublime.
“To Go Wrong” has a real “shit happens” vibe. It shares a dark view
of life with a chorus of “good things were meant to go wrong.” Not
always true, but it can feel that way when it happens, and Lillie Mae’s hurtful
warble underscores the point.
The record is country, but it comes with a healthy dose of bluegrass sensibilities,
with a lively jump on the rhythm and all the players getting a ‘turn’ to show
off their talents. It also keeps everybody kept nice and even in the mix. The
album was produced by Jack White, who shows his deep respect to these country
and bluegrass traditions. White may be a blues-rocker himself, but like Rick
Rubin, he has a knack for capturing the sound and essence of the act he’s
producing, and then bringing it to full-flower.
The record didn’t always penetrate down deep like I wanted it to, and
sometimes the production in striving to be rustic and authentic strayed into “tinny”
territory. Sorry, Jack. However, these were minor moments on a record that has
such solid songwriting and musicianship that I know it will continue to sink in
both deeper and better on each new listen.
Best tracks: Honky
Tonks and Taverns, Wash Me Clean, These Daze, Forever and Then Some, To Go
Wrong
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