Strange Medicine
9/10 Expansive, finely detailed fourth from banjo-toting Canadian AMERICANA ROUND-UP
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IT’S been a full six years since Kaia Kater’s last album, the exquisite
Grenades, but she appears to have spent the time judiciously. Having undertaken a residency at the Canadian Film Centre, she’s broadened an already impressive skill set by composing TV and movie scores, which, in turn, now feed into the soundscapes of Strange Medicine.
At the same time, the album nds Kater rediscovering the passion for banjo – she spent years studying Appalachian music in West Virginia – that made 2016’s
Nine Pin so distinctive. The instrument foregrounds a number of songs here, though as part of larger arrangements that nd space for inventive, jazzlike percussion, strings, loops, low-key brass and a smattering of electronica. The e¡ect is oen dizzyingly fresh and satisfyingly rich, as Kater explores inuences as diverse as the West African kora and minimalist hero Steve Reich. “Fédon”, for instance, with guest Taj Mahal, stretches outwards from core banjo to bring semi-symphonic soul and jazz-blues into its artfully
WHEN ex-blasters founder Dave Alvin returned to live performance in 2022, after prolonged treatment for cancer, he chose Jimmie Dale Gilmore as his touring partner. He and the renowned Flatlander have now made good on 2018’s terrific Downey To Lubbock by cutting a follow-up, Texicali ROC. Out in late June, the
YEP
album serves as a psycho-geographical road trip across the States, sharing musical influences and memories – from Terry
Allen and Butch Hancock to
Brownie Mcghee – on songs like “Borderland”, “Southwest Chief” and “Down The 285”. Another comeback welcome is afforded
Beachwood Sparks, who’ve reunited after a 10-year break to bring us Across The River Of Stars
in July. The West Coast
CURATIONmeasured mix. “In Montreal” fuses a clawhammer gure to syncopated beats and a delicious Celtic ddle break. “Mechanics Of The Mind” is a sinuous ensemble piece that manages to sound both musically involved and tastefully understated, feeling all the more powerful for its sense of restraint.
Strange Medicine also runs deep and wide lyrically. These are songs that speak of misogyny, racism, the bloody legacy of colonialism and Kater’s place in the modern world. “The Witch”, featuring Aoife O’donovan, uses the Salem witch trials to address institutionalised sexism, male perceptions of women and the venting of righteous anger. On “In Montréal”, Kater encounters visions of her former selves in the place of her birth, accompanied by fellow city native Allison Russell. It’s a conicted portrait, as are “Floodlights” and the lovely “Maker Taker”, both of which examine Kater’s relationship with her own art. “I may not stay valuable/ Unless I’m writing verses/and telling tragic stories”, she sings in her low, expressive voice. Whatever the context, Strange Medicine suggests that hers is a talent built to endure. trio enlisted The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson as producer, shaping a bunch of psychedelic country gems that include “My Love, My Love”, “Torn In Two” and “Wild Swans”. Look out, too, for In Good Company (LONE HAWK, from New Mexicobased maverick and milliner-to-the-stars Charlie Overbey. Once christened the “punk rock spy in the house of honky-tonk” by Lemmy, Overbey offers up road-hardened alt.country songs that mine decades of writing and recording in various studios across the world. His guestlist is similarly extensive: Nils Lofgren, Charlie Starr, Marcus King, Jaime Wyatt, Duane Betts, Eddie Spaghetti and many more. “If this happened to be my last record, it would be a record that told my story,” says the veteran. “A legacy record for me.”
All Gist
PARADISE OF BACHELORS 7/10
Duo guitar studies, with surprising covers
With All Gist, guitarists James Elkington and Nathan Salsburg are playing with ease, but at a stylistic peak – there’s real comfort in the way these two musicians work together. Some of the most seductive moments here, like the gorgeous “Numb Limbs”, recall the simpatico guitar duets of Bert Jansch and John Renbourn; other cuts, like “Explanation Point”, feel more Socal in their breeziness. And the covers are instructive, in their own way
– a uid, limber take on Howard Skempton’s “Well, Well, Cornelius”; a convincing, playful reading of Neneh Cherry’s “Bu¡alo Stance”. It’s smart without being cloying or ironic.