Written by Mike Yoder, posted by blog admin
Blues,
country, folk and hard rock unite into a cohesive whole on Sarah Morris’ latest
recording, Hearts in Need of Repair. Maintaining full momentum on the heels of her
prior full-length albums 2012’ Lonely or Free
and 2015’s Ordinary Things, Morris’
newest platter expands on the musical ideas, dazzling instrumentation,
heartfelt vocals and baroque lyrical inflections tenfold.
Starting
off with a bang, the title track places full emphasis on Morris’ powerful set
of pipes and dynamic vocal range. Stream
of conscious verses go into a full bodied chorus where melody is held high
above all things. Multipart acoustic
guitar licks, fluid jabs of bass and gentle drumming give off an ebb n’ flow
that enraptures the senses and hooks your mind in for the long haul. The lively “Good at Goodbye” is a bouncy
number overflowing with faster-paced acoustic guitar twang given a call to arms
by the snappy, brush-played snare drum work.
Bass lines come at you full force and Sarah’s vocals showcase a tough
drive which adds danger to the awesome melodicism. “Cheap Perfume” switches things up musically
yet again and takes the peppy country of “Good at Goodbye” and stitches some harder,
slower blues swerves into the sonic fabric.
This opening trio of tunes sets the tone for the album to come and
things only get better with each passing track.
“Helium”
is straight acoustic folk and is reminiscent of a more elegant take on the
Guthrie approach to the genre. The
album’s lead single “Falling Over” has a little more dirt under its nails and
bewitches the eardrums with electric guitar swipes, bayou-bred guitar licks
borrowed from Ry Cooder’s playback, tribal drumming and a super sultry lead
vocal. It’s a gripping piece with a
snaking American Gothic musical backdrop emerging from a dank, bluesy swamp
south of the Mason Dixon Line. Perfectly
following it up is the electrified rock, blues and Nashville tinge of “Course
Correction’s” achingly harrowing vocals and Morris’ bands white knuckle
instrumental twists driving the ball hard over the fences. The pop-kissed folk of “Empty Seat” might
just be the record’s sugar sweetest, most uplifting numbers thanks to
multi-tracked acoustics and Morris’ instantly memorable vocal melody.
The
fuzzy, semi-distorted heavy riffs and greasy acoustic blues groove of “Shelter
or the Storm” is a gutsy, stormy cut that locks onto a grueling rhythms and
incendiary vocals. While the songwriting
always teeters between divine melodies and heavier tropes, this track is
probably the most direct in terms of the group’s musical divisions fully
uniting. “Nothing Compares” jettisons
the gravelly attack for soft, soulful country folk that’s nearly entirely
acoustic aside from sparse electric notations.
“On a Stone” inserts some classical string arrangements and some
male/female vocal harmonies into the guitar-centered acoustic beauty. Curtain calling track “Confetti” is an epic
piece that drops in a touch of piano, cabaret pop and other disparate influences
onto the head-swimming country folk majesty.
Hearts in Need
of Repair
eclipses Sarah Morris’ two prior excellent outings by upping the musical ante
in nearly every way. Top off the dynamic
musicianship and Morris’ wonderful vocals is a production job that highlights
each song’s many strengths (Morris and the band earned a co-production credit
alongside their usual producer Eric Blomquist).
For an old school musical atmosphere without being kitschy retro, it doesn’t
get much better than Hearts in Need of
Repair.
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