This next album ended up #9 on my Top 10 of 2020 list.
Disc 1801 is…Modern Appalachia
Artist: Sarah Siskind
Year of Release: 2020
What’s up with the Cover? A drawing (or woodcut print?) of a woman wearing a large bird as a blouse. Or possibly a woman turning into a bird based on whatever is going in with the hands.
If you wanted to turn into a bird, this would be a pretty great life moment. If you had no intention of turning into a bird, this would be terrifying. Perspective matters.
How I Came To Know It: the boring way I find a lot of music; I read a review. This time on American Songwriter, which is one of a few review sites I routinely troll for new music. The process goes something like this:
- I skim the review for words and phrases that warn me to stay
away (e.g. “very jazzy”; “ambient soup of sound”).
- If I don’t find any of those, I read a bit more deeply. If it
sounds interesting, I’ll play an embedded link or check out a single.
- If I like that, I play the whole album.
- If I like that then…well, here we are.
How It Stacks Up: this is my only Sarah Siskind album, so it can’t stack up.
Ratings: 4 stars
“Modern Appalachia” is an example of how music can not only tell a story but change your mood and perceptions of the world around you. Sarah Siskind’s combination of country and folk music is the vehicle here, and you will quickly fall under her spell. Great songwriting abounds here, but it also helps that her voice has the tone it does. Even the more humdrum songs are held up by that rich, warm voice that seeps into your bones like heat from a woodstove.
The record starts you off unexpectedly, with the atmospheric “Me and Now”. It’s not my favourite tune on the record, but the guitar has a lovely lilting float to it. You know those late nights when you find yourself alone and contemplative and very much in the now? That’s this song. It settles you into a dreamy feeling of acceptance. Sometimes you gotta just relax and be. This is a song for that.
While it is a good start, the album’s masterpiece is the title track which follows. “Modern Appalachia” redefines why tone matters in both singing and playing. Gone are the atmospheric sounds of “Me and Now”, and you are treated to a stripped-down exploration of Siskind’s various musical influences. Dolly Parton, Mahalia Jackson, Paul Brady and Bill Frisell all get shout outs, although the way this song rolls gently toward you, they are more…hug outs? Hearing Sarah Siskind’s voice climb effortlessly up through the refrain is as close as you can get to god without dyin’.
And if that weren’t enough, Bill Frisell isn’t just mentioned, he plays lead guitar. Yes Bill Frisell is a jazz guitarist and no, I have no love for his solo work (sorry, Bill). Nevertheless, once restrained into the structure of a folk song he is able to explore blue notes here and there in a way that just adds to the wonder of Siskind, her heroes and a general sense of the magic of what ‘Modern Appalachia’ represents and inspires musically.
It's worth noting that while Frisell lends his talents to a couple of songs, Siskind is no slouch on the guitar either and has mastered her own playing with that same warm tone her voice holds.
On “Punk Rock Girl” Siskind explores the heartache of rejection through the prism of wishing for that harder edged youthful version of herself. She’s a folk singer feeling the feels these days, but that younger, punk rock girl would have known just how to brazenly walk past a little heartache. At least that’s the theory. The tension between the two versions of herself captures the complexity that exists in even the simplest encounter with grief.
There is a lot of faith-driven music on the album, and while I’m not a religious person I found these songs some of the most inspired. I’ve been listening to a lot of Elvis singing devotionals lately and what makes it work first and foremost is that Elvis feels it. No subterfuge – dude just loves God.
On “Modern Appalachia” Siskind’s explorations of faith are grounded in natural settings. “In the Mountains” is a song about how climbing high into beautiful natural spaces makes you feel close to something bigger than yourself. “Rest in the River” is the same experience, but down in the valleys and the river, washing trouble and toil away.
This is the feeling of being safe and sound in the arms of something greater than you. When the world’s expansive wonder wraps its arms around you, making you feel diffused and comforted at the same time. We’ve all felt it, and these songs had me yearning to cast off the trappings of my urban life and get out in the woods like I did when I was a kid and just feel the power of nature all around me. I don’t call that god, but some people do, and that’s OK. It’s the feeling that matters.
This record gave me a lot of these feelings and left me with the same restful but alert experience of those youthful wanderings. Thanks for the journey, Ms. Siskind.
Best tracks: Modern Appalachia, In the Mountains, A Little Bit Troubled, Punk Rock Girl, Rest in the River
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