Carlisle croons about the holler; sweet, savory mix from ISMAY
Willi Carlisle’s folk music focuses on the folks in the shadows of the hills and hollers, or, as he calls it, “Critterland.”
That’s the title of his newest album, a compelling follow-up to Carlisle’s 2022 breakout release, “Peculiar, Missouri.” Once again, populist parables are populated with colorful characters navigating the drama and trauma of life among the have-nots in ways that challenge assumptions about rural identity, bias and suffering.
“They think I’m a queer and a communist,” Carlisle’s protagonist in the title cut laments, his rifle ready for an apocalypse.
The Joplin, Missouribased Carlisle uses his literary background to craft lyrics that make for a wild ride across harsh land. Songs about addiction, suicide, daddy issues and a two-headed lamb find beauty and lessons in life and death outside the mainstream.
Producer Darrell Scott helps vary simple arrangements with a deft mix of guitar, banjo, harp and accordion. Carlisle’s wise, wry tenor and stories don’t need a lot of instrumental accompaniments. In fact, there’s none on the final cut, “The Money Grows on Trees.” A seven-minute saga of greed, corruption and the outlaw way, it’s the place where folk music and poetry meet. — Steven Wine, Associated Press
Avery Hellman possesses an affable alto that’s
quirky, as is the perspective from which the artist writes. “Sitting alone on the porch I think/ About the things we washed down the sink,” goes one couplet.
Hellman, whose grandfather founded the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival, is the rural California singer-songwriter behind the musical moniker ISMAY and the album “Desert Pavement.”
Hellman and producer/ multi-instrumentalist Andrew Marlin create rich colors and hazy atmospherics in a sweet and savory mix. Fetching melodies are the kind one might whistle, and on “Stranger in the Barn,” Marlin does.
Disembodied backing vocals dart in and out, tricky fingerpicking patterns on guitar provide syncopation and drums reverberate as though they’re inside drums themselves. The result is mostly acoustic music that sounds good loud.
Nature and farm life are recurring subjects. On “The Ohio,” Hellman sings of desert cracks and the tug of a river. “Coyote in the Road” considers the encounter from both points of view, while “The Shearer & the Darby Ram” spins a tale from British lore.
“My pathway to others,” Hellman sings “is paved out in records.” And this record is an inviting pathway to ISMAY. — Steven Wine
The Giorgi Mikadze Trio’s recent jazz album ends with a bit of studio conversation before Mikadze finally says, “Let’s start,” as if the group is just getting going.
The album title implies the same, and “Face to Face: Georgian Songbook Vol. 1” will leave listeners wanting more. The set is distinctive thanks to the performances and source material, which includes pieces by composers from the country of Georgia.
Mikadze is a Georgia native who studied in the U.S., and “Face to Face” is his first record leading a traditional piano jazz trio. He’s joined by bassist François Moutin and drummer Raphaël Pannier, and together they present a vibrant set full of personality across a range of moods.
Especially charming are interpretations of Giya Kancheli’s “A Magic Egg” and Shota Milorava’s “Same Garden,” both compositions from 1970s animated films. “A Magic Egg” builds whimsically on a simple recurring figure, while “Same Garden” evokes Broadway, with Pannier’s propulsive percussion leading Mikadze into exhilarating improvisational explorations.
Three compositions by Mikadze are a good fit here. “Nana” sways through stops and starts, and an elusive pulse distinguishes “Satchidao,” Mikadze’s reinterpretation of a tune sung during wrestling matches. For the trio, “Face to Face” is a terrific start.