Music Blog

Or~The Whale's second album ("Or, The Whale") opens with a sound that seems to have been lifted from a Fairport Convention album, then kicks back across the Atlantic into an American music more akin to Uncle Tupelo and early N.Young, then cuts back and it's old English again. The variations keep the album sounding fresh: Very unlike 1970's folk acts who managed one or two big anthem songs in otherwise overblown theme albums influenced by rock, Or~The Whale's one 'big-sound' track 'Black Rabbit' fits in with a set so good it already sound like a "best of" selection.

The lead vocals switch between four different band members with Alex Robbins prominent on half the tracks, however, from the outset it's the harmonies and backing vocals that sway the emotion: I'm struck by the tone of Lindsay Garfield - her backing vocal lifts the opener and she's gorgeous on her first lead vocal track "Never Coming Out" - that 'English' folk element seems to be down to her. Garfield is young and surely bound to a future as a solo artist in her own right. The second female vocalist Julie Ann Thomasson adds another dimension with her vocal leaning more towards the american tradition of razorred drawl within the refrain. The second male vocalist Matt Sartain started the group with Robbins through a Craigslist ad - just like the old music paper ads... but who could have predicted they would pick up such talent.

In the folk tradition I hope that Or~The Whale adopt the approach of the Watersons & McCarthys - staying supportive to each other's ventures while promotng the main function of folk - the voice and the telling of the people's story. Or~The Whale's publicity states that they 'have grown into something... neither country or rock', I can agree, it's not quite either/or, let's call it Transatlantic Folk and call it damned good too.


Occasionally a performer pays homage to Hank Williams by dusting off his songs and giving them new life (one of the best efforts is 'Hanky Panky' by 'The The' front man Matt Johnson). People call Williams a country singer, fine, but I'll call it American Folk to differentiate it from that other genre. In recent times there are occasional offerings that borrow from Williams' legacy (from the likes of Will Oldham, and briefly, The Gourds); but here now is something quite unexpected, and it's source is just as surprising:

Of all the things that are hard to believe about The Darling Downs the most staggering is that all the songs on 'From One To Another' are original.
I listened to the album constantly thinking 'who did that? ... whose is that? The Darling Downs is actually a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia - and you'd swear that the band who took the name from these heights also swept down from those hills out of a past where they unearthed some long lost recordings of Williams'. This music is that good.

Yes, they're Australian, but you wouldn't know from the vocal. It's hard to fathom, but they seem to have delivered the most authentic American Folk outside of a few masters like Cash & Prine. Antipodean Folk!? No, it's Aussies who are just inspired by the great man - consider the lyrics:
The traditional - "Come inside and feel the fire/Leave your well worns at the door/There's a light upon the table/and a warm place on the floor"; and the amusing repeat refrain "Jesus died before me". Throughout, the stories are fittingly evocative "You're the sound of broken glass that's made me shave my skin at last/ and you're the one who cared for me when I was down at 33".

Who are The Darling Downs? They are Kim Salmon and Ron Peno - both these blokes are in their 30's, both long established on the Australian rock scene with The Scientists, The Surrealists, Died Pretty: Two blokes who came up with a project that could have, and probably should have, been awful - but somehow it's not - rather, it's splendid in every aspect. Peno is a fierce looking man who sings with a range and control that is disarming and passionate, Salmon plays banjo and guitar with a deftness, picking his way back from the past with melodies and rhythms that sound like we've known them since childhood.

'From One To Another' is The Darling Downs second album, their first I haven't heard, but my birthday's coming... as soon as I arrive around that bend...

This foray into American Folk wouldn't be complete without mentioning the Spring release of sixteen artists covering the songs of 70's Connecticut folksinger Kath Bloom. The 2 disc set Loving Takes This Course: A Tribute to the Songs of Kath Bloom features originals by Bill Callahan plus some very interesting covers  by admiring contemporary bands, and it's entertaining to compare the versions of songs. I should say that I had never heard of Kath Bloom (one of those music knowledge holes), but she is said to have been influential to many of the artists covering her here. It seems that her 'discovery' by modern artists came through the use of her song "Come Here" in the Richard Linklater film Before Sunrise.

Loving Takes This Course is arranged with the covers on one disc and the original versions on the other. It's a fascinating listen, on the early songs Bloom's high register veers almost piercingly too high before calming on the later tracks, yet the delivery feels honest and the songs are refreshingly frank. The latter tracks come from six albums made with guitarist Loren Connors, who , despite a limited style, nevertheless inspired some markedly superior songs and performances from Bloom.

The covers album features artists such as Bill Callahan, Corrina Repp, Mark Kozelek, The Dodos and Scout Niblett. There are ups and downs which rather mirror the quality of the songs on the original, but there remain too many outstanding songs to resist on this essential release. On the flop-side is the enigmatic Devendra Banhart, fully unsuited in this style, but ever playful. On the box-of-tissues and profound-afterthough-also end is Bill Callahan bettering - stunningly - Bloom's best performance and song "The Breeze/My Baby Cries".

There are several other outstanding covers here - singers who own, feel or transform Bloom's songs - taking them to new heights - notably Marianne Dissard & Joey Burns; Amy Rude and, the pick - Meg Baird's version of "There Was A Boy". Both Cds creep up on you and if you are at all vulnerable to emotional response, make sure you have a handkerchief or two at hand in the candlelight.


Copyright: Zaph Mann 2009.  Reproduction with attribution is fine. Original publisher: opbmusic.org 2009