It has been a busy weekend,
starting off with my last day at my old job. I’m taking a one year assignment
elsewhere in government and I’m excited to see what the future holds.
For now, let’s look back in the
past at the second album in a row that also features a concert review
immediately following – this time for the lovely and talented Lera Lynn, who we
saw in Nashville last weekend. The usual drill applies – album review first,
followed by a review of the show.
Disc 792 is….The Avenues
Year of Release: 2014
What’s up with the Cover? I think that’s the LA skyline,
which is strangely beautiful in a post-apocalyptic kind of way.
How I Came To Know It: I was looking for a cool show to
see while Sheila and I were in Nashville and was basically Youtubing every
artist playing when we were in town. When I checked out Lera Lynn I was
astounded to find she is the singer in the background in the bar scenes of True
Detective Season Two. We both love her music, so we bought tickets to see her
while we were there.
As for
this specific album, I bought her first three albums (and a tour shirt) for $60
while I was at the show. Lera even signed the CD – check it out!
How It Stacks Up: I have three Lera Lynn albums, one
of which is an EP. I believe this is all of them, other than the True Detective
soundtrack. I haven’t listened to them all yet, but my instinct tells me “The
Avenues” is her best, so I’ll put it #1 at this point.
Ratings: 4 stars
Lera Lynn’s music is a
complicated blend of haunting indie rock, with strong country and western
influences. On “The Avenues” she’s got that blend perfectly.
This is music that will seep
down into your bones, and despite the fact that Lynn’s lyrics are insightful
and poetic I often found myself drifting with the ambient quality of the music
and forgetting she was even singing words at all. Then her sweet and breathy
voice would rise up again and catch my attention with a perfectly turned phrase
that drew me out of the scenery and back to the plot.
Those plots are often dark, exploring
the human condition in all its frailty and uncertainty. Thematically, it is no surprise
that Lynn often returns to metaphors that evoke the moon or ocean tides, since
this is music that speaks to the quiet spaces in our minds; those subconscious
urges and fears that influence us and draw us into decisions despite ourselves.
There are places, notably on
“Letters” where she sounds like an
early Sarah McLachlan, and it wouldn’t surprise me if that was one of her
influences growing up. Her voice has less of a sharp edge at the high end of
her register than McLachlan’s, but it isn’t lesser as a result. Rather, it helps
fit into the rounded quality of the songs, with plenty of soft reverb, lilting
melodies and minor keys.
On many tracks there are
small flourishes of country twang, such as the appearance of the banjo and
pedal steel in “Out to Sea.” Also,
yes – there’s that ocean metaphor again.
On “Refrain” Lynn speeds things up a bit, with a simple three strum guitar
riff and a very clever use of empty space. Here she has qualities of Laura
Marling, folksy and worldly-wise. The song ends with this sad realization:
“Hold me one last time and tell me that the fault’s not mine
You’re only letting go because I’ve asked you so
Don’t try to realize the forgotten lustre of my eyes
It’s easier if you maintain your cold and hard refrain.”
I love the triple use of
refrain here, first as a repeating pattern in a failing relationship, and then
as the withholding of affection. And of course, that little three strum guitar riff,
hollow and haunting, is the refrain in the song and the musical underpinning to
the song.
Songs like “Refrain” make me marvel at Lynn’s talent
as a songwriter, and excited to delve into her other albums as soon as
possible.
While it is brilliant, “The
Avenues” is not an easy album to access. If you expect to throw it on in the
car and be singing along by the second verse, you’ll be disappointed. This is
an album that needs to sink into you over multiple listens. But true beauty
steals into only the quietest of souls. So you do yourself a favour, put aside
whatever other diversions you may have and let Lynn cast her siren’s spell on
you. You’ll be glad you did.
Best
tracks: Out to Sea, Standing on the Moon, Letters,
Refrain, I’m Your Fool, Hooked on You
The
Show – Saturday October 17 at 3rd and Lindsley, Nashville
After spending the previous night in Nashville down
on the soulless gong show of dive bars that is Honky Tonk Row in downtown
Nashville, Sheila and I were in need of a positive music experience far from
the madding (and drunken) crowd.
Fortunately, before we left on our trip we secured
tickets to Lera Lynn, playing at 3rd and Lindsley. 3rd
and Lindsley is a bar about a 20 minute walk from downtown Nashville, in a
desolate kind of industrial area. Sheila and I knew from reading reviews to get
there about 90 minutes early to get good seats, and we ended up one table back
from the very front, with a perfect unobstructed view.
The opening act was Brian Whelan, who was branching
out solo after serving in Dwight Yoakam’s band. The Dwight Yoakam influences
were clear, as Whelan played some boogie woogie and generally mixed the blues
in with traditional country songs.
Whelan was clearly wishing he had a full band (it
was just him and a guitar) but I thought he did a good job of creating the
volume of sound his songs required. He had a nice tone to his voice and he
played guitar beautifully but the songs themselves didn’t blow me away.
Then it was time for Lera Lynn to take the stage. Lynn has a great stage presence. She’s witty and
playful with her audience and had a bit of a potty mouth, which I appreciated
(People don’t swear a lot in Nashville, and I was kind of missing it).
She exhorted her audience to come down in front of
the stage, which I thought given her slow and introspective songs would be a
bit of a challenge. Nevertheless, by halfway through her show she had filled up
the empty dance floor with swaying fans.
Lynn played a mix of songs from her earlier career as
well as 2-3 from the True Detective soundtrack that is currently boosting her
career. Her voice was beautiful and powerful and her band was very talented.
When she took lead guitar moments she played exquisitely.
Here’s a fun clip of the band doing an a capella
version of the Zombies’ song “The Way I Feel Inside” from the show we were at.
The sound was quite possible the best sound mixing I’ve
ever heard in a bar environment. It was loud enough to hear everything but
never overpowering or amped to the point of creating feedback. It felt like I
was listening to music on my home stereo.
The crowd was a mixed bag. Overall, it was a huge
step up from Honky Tonk Row’s drunken frat environment. I was instantly aware
that this was where Nashville’s real
fans came to get their fix. It was a collection of hip young professionals, university
students and older biker/trucker folks. I got the impression there were a lot
of locals.
The folks at the large table behind us were annoying,
talking through portions of the performance. While they were talking about
music, maybe they could have instead listened to the music that was actually
playing? See my comment above about how true beauty steals only into the
quietest of souls. Fortunately the great sound mixing made it fairly easy to
block them out over time.
On the flip side, we met a couple of much more
polite guys from Bowling Green, Kentucky. They drove down (it isn’t far from
Nashville) and were a couple of avid fans and great guys. When talking to them
(before and after the show – not during), we found out that their names were Zach
and…Logan! Yes, another Logan. Since he was in his early twenties, I’ve decided
to call him LJ.
Anyway – a big hello to Zach and LJ, who made our great
Nashville experience even better with some down-home hospitality.
After the show, Lera Lynn was at the merch table to
greet her fans – something Lindi Ortega does after her shows as well and
may be a Nashville thing (Ortega is Canadian but like Lynn is based out of
Nashville).
Also like Ortega, Lera Lynn is ‘stupid pretty’,
meaning she is so pretty that she makes you feel stupid just trying to form a
sentence when she’s looking at you. Lynn seems aware of her powers and takes a
witty and devilish delight in teasing her fans as she talks with them. Yes, I
liked it. She seems like a lot of fun and was very gracious in letting us take
a picture, and making us feel like it was a rare pleasure, and not something
she has to do 50 times a night.
Yes, I wore a Blue Oyster Cult t-shirt to a country bar. Yeehaw!
If you get a chance to see Lera Lynn – take it! She’s
got a great stage presence, incredible talent and the days of seeing her in
smaller venues may be limited given all the talent she’s got.
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