If you’re a fan of Sonny Landreth’s groundbreaking slide guitar and are familiar with
some of his previous work, prepare to be
surprised with Elemental Journey, his 11th
solo release. It represents a real departure from his earlier albums.
Yes, all Landreth’s trademark sounds—the churning, fret-behind-the-slide riffs,
bouncy Cajun rhythms, and fat, soaring lines—are here in spades. His intonation and
vibrato are as precise and electrifying as ever, and when it comes to wielding a bottle-neck with precision at warp speed, Landreth is still the hands-down champ.
But in terms of material, Landreth ventures into new territory with Elemental
Journey. For starters, it’s an all-instrumental affair with 11 Landreth originals. Instead
of pursuing swampy, roots-rock sounds—a world he knows so well—here the
Louisiana native reaches for more cinematic textures and grander musical themes.
And wait until you hear the string arrangements, which play a featured role on five
of the pieces. These strings aren’t simply incidental ear candy or background sounds
added to sweeten the mix. Rather, they play a key role in the ensemble itself, weaving,
pulsing, and wrapping around Landreth’s singing slide to create a sound I’ve never
heard before.
Sam Broussard—a superb slide player in his own right—did the string arrangements, and his impressionistic colors infuse the music with an edgy, yet majestic vibe.
Landreth and Broussard collaborated closely to write the parts, which were beautifully
performed by members of the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra and conducted by the
critically acclaimed Mariusz Smolij.
If you’ve heard Robert Kirby’s brilliant string arrangements on Nick Drake’s Five
Leaves Left and Bryter Layter, then you already have a sense of how Broussard’s efforts
enhance Landreth’s music. The effect is that potent.
Eric Johnson and Joe Satriani each make a guest appearance on a song. Both play
magnificently and add a rocking thrust to Landreth’s more soulful delivery, but—at
least to these ears—it’s the combination of strings and slide that creates the deep mojo
on Elemental Journey. —Andy Ellis
Must-hear track: “Brave New Girl”
ALBUM
Sonny
Landreth
Elemental Journey
Landfall Records
Grace sings
about lo- and hi-fi
in “Turntable,”
nodding to the
blend of opposites—ups and
downs, hard
and soft, yells
and whispers—before she absolutely nails
the epic slow-tempo groove “One Heart
Missing.” GPATN might be an anomaly:
a band with chops, led by a versatile wild
child with supermodel looks who can belt it
out while jamming with Warren Haynes or
dueting with Kenny Chesney.
Here they’ve dug deep and lit a fire under
a collection of highly inspired songs to
deliver a full range of foot-stompers, piercing hooks, and driving melody. Consider
the beast unleashed. —Tessa Jeffers
The Punch Brothers
How to Grow a Band
Shaftway Productions
ALBUM
Grace Potter & the
Nocturnals
The Lion The Beast The Beat
Hollywood Records
Last season on The Voice, Alanis Morissette
told a timid contender that she needed
to find “Bertha”—the big, burning voice
inside of her. Compared to solid earlier efforts from a group who warmed up
in jam-band land, Grace Potter & the
Nocturnals have found Bertha, and she
wails on The Lion The Beast The Beat.
The guitar-heavy, multiple-genre attack
is presented seamlessly, beginning with a
nice, loud statement in the title track that
lays chanting over a primitive drum trance
before guitarists Scott Tournet and Benny
Yurco launch into the shred-osphere. Potter
co-wrote several high-energy tracks with
Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, including the
standout, “Never Go Back,” which begins
with a foundation of muscular riffage and
fuzz, then blossoms with punchy surf layers
and sexy twang. Auerbach’s presence is felt
in the subtle way collaboration should be—
the nuanced material doesn’t sound like it
belongs to somebody else.
They say that the
best art comes
from pain and the
Punch Brothers’
new documentary,
How to Grow a
Band, reveals
the journey that
mandolinist Chris
Thile took after
Nickel Creek
imploded under
its own weight. With his main gig becoming a memory and the struggle of a divorce
still ringing, Thile composed “The Blind
Leaving the Blind,” a 40-minute string
quintet for bluegrass instruments. As you
watch this movie you get to witness a young
band full of virtuoso musicians develop
their own voice and deal with personal
changes, while trying to push the envelope
of traditional music in new directions.
One of the more tense scenes from
the movie is when bassist Greg Garrison
discusses the idea of splitting up the four-movement piece to make it more accessible after a not-so-warm welcome at a
Glasgow show. Since they are constantly
struggling against the “hot bluegrass” label
