Sow to Sow Drew Grow and Katrina Skalland with the Pastors’ Wives
Andrew Grow/Katrina Skalland
2008
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This beautiful EP combines the soulful alt-country sounds of Portland artist Drew Grow with the ambient pop stylings of Sacramento transplant Katrina Skalland. Grow and Skalland, who met on the road a few years back, prove that the sum can equal more than the parts. This EP contains only seven songs, a thoughtful mixture of indie folk-rock featuring slide guitar ballads, catchy pop choruses, and smart-kid lyrics. Each artist in the duo takes a turn singing lead while the other provides backup, supported by Grow’s talented band, the Pastors’ Wives. Skalland’s a little bit rock ’n’ roll, channeling Sleater-Kinney on the catchy “Kiss You,” while Grow’s a little bit country, with a warm, earthy sound shot through with piano, horns, and symbols. His earnest, heartfelt plea on the rich “I Want You To Come Home Now” is the perfect play to Skalland’s light-hearted “Darling,” where she exclaims that she’ll pretty much marry any man who uses that endearment. In a state full of talented musicians, Grow and Skalland shoot right to the top—don’t miss out the next time they grace Eugene’s doorstep.
Portland’s prolific M. Ward is back with Hold Time, a lo-fi collection inspired by mid-century country-and-western and pop classics. Most of Hold Time features M. Ward’s own songs—simple and short, filled with themes of love, loss, and loneliness—while some tracks are remakes of other tunes, including a richer, folksier version of Buddy Holly’s “Rave On,” and a slower, more painful telling of Don Gibson’s 1958 classic, “Oh Lonesome Me.” On that track, Ward ups the melancholy quotient a notch by bringing in the Queen of Country Heartache, Lucinda Williams, resulting in a sweet, sultry track that transports you right back to the depths of your biggest heartache. Ward pays his respect to the greats, like Roger Miller and Johnny Cash, especially with the tune “Fisher of Men,” which features a guitar styling heavily inspired by the Man In Black’s “Folsom Prison Blues.” A mixture of upbeat Americana with rolling guitars and layered percussion (“Never Had Nobody Like You”) and slow, thoughtful ballads (“Shangri-La”), Hold Time is a smart, cohesive album listeners from all generations will enjoy. The vinyl version on a record player? Even better.
In an industry built on youth, pre-packaged marketing plans, and heavily produced songs, blues and soul artist Susan Tedeschi is a welcome reminder that artistic vision, true talent, and 20 years of hard work can still make you relevant at the “old” age of 38. Married to music wunderkind Derek Trucks, Tedeschi no longer has the painful search for love as a muse to lean on, and with two young kids and musical success for both herself and Trucks, singing the blues might seem a bit of a stretch. But as any stay-at-home mom or midlife-crisis dad can tell you, this can be exactly when the existential blues really take hold. The tortured “Can’t Sleep at Night” and “For No One” showcase a mature voice in its prime, seasoned with real life and love experiences that a 22-year-old pop star can only dream about. It’s not all about the internal struggle, however, as Tedeschi explores themes of altruism in both the soulful “True” and the moving “700 Houses,” a sobering reminder that post-Katrina New Orleans is still in a state of despair. Back to the River is the perfect soundtrack for a country with no more use for smoke-and-mirrors and lip-syncing, but that seeks instead something of real, lasting value.
