Sarah Shook Makes Perfect Case for the Importance of Vocal Technique

April 5, 2018 Megan Leave a comment

In an interview ahead of Sarah Shook & the Disarmers’ new album, Shook had some interesting things to say about her preparation for this record. She says that she went back and listened to their first album, Sidelong, in an effort to see how she could improve.

It was good, she decided, but knew it could be better. She studied vocal technique so that she could hit notes more accurately while in the studio, changing the way she sings and how she controls her voice. And the difference is palpable. “Even just the control of my voice and the way I sing sounds completely different to me now…I really wanted to be singing my best.”

Indeed, I’d agree with the article that the difference between the two albums is tangible, but I’ll save my comments on that for my review of Years after its release tomorrow. However, the point here is that Sarah Shook recognized the importance of her vocal delivery, counting it just as significant as her songwriting and musicianship, even seeking to improve what she could. Anyone at all familiar with Sarah Shook & the Disarmers knows that hers isn’t a polished or even a pleasant vocal tone, but on this album, the songs seem to work in spite of that. It’s because she worked with what she had. A singer cannot change his or her tone, but other things can be improved, like pitch accuracy and breath control, and Shook understood that and treated her vocals like another necessary part of her craft.

This should be an obvious thing, but it’s something many artists in the independent scenes could take a lesson from, as well as something many critics/reviewers/etc don’t commentate on enough. With tone being something a vocalist has no control over, it’s easy to see why reviewers don’t address vocal issues often, but just like any other instrument, it can be improved. Vivian Leva doesn’t have to add the inflections in her voice that make some of her songs hard to listen to. Bonnie Montgomery’s album would have been better had she studied breath support techniques and given more power to her lyrics, many of which were lyrics that would have been delivered better with a punch. Jade Jackson released a record last year with engaging melodies, great songwriting, and varied instrumentation, and yes, her tone can be off-putting, but she could have gone a long way toward helping that by seeking to improve her pitch accuracy. Anyone who isn’t completely tone deaf can improve these skills. I could list a lot more examples, and indeed, I’ve wanted to write this post for a very long time, just as I wrote one about the lost art of melody writing by independent/Americana songwriters, but until now, I didn’t have an example of someone doing it right, a proof that greater attention to vocals can be felt from project to project. Sarah Shook’s hard work in preparation of this record is that proof, and artists should aspire to this.

As for the reason they’re not aspiring to it more often, I think it goes back to the backlash I talked about in the melody post, as countless reality shows hold up vocal ability as the pinnacle of great musicianship. There was a second-place finisher on American Idol several seasons before its finale that, when recording an original song for her final performance, couldn’t identify a D7 chord when she was asked to sing on it in the studio. This is very basic musical knowledge, and stuff like this is incredibly insulting to musicians and songwriters who make music their life’s work. Although singing is a great talent, it’s sometimes looked upon as somehow secondary in music, particularly when amazing vocalists win these shows and then go on to do nothing whatsoever afterword because they have no knowledge of the business, no experience as a musician, and nothing profound to say as an artist. Artistry is much more than outstanding vocal talent, and these shows are an excellent display of this. It’s understandable, then, that the reaction from the independent scenes is to glorify songwriting and musicianship and hold them up higher than vocal ability. After all, we’re living in the age of the song, and adequate vocals are fine as long as you have something important to say.

But the age of the song shouldn’t mean that we’re not also living in the age of the singer. Think how much more beautiful some of these songs would be if their singers expanded their ranges and thereby could write more interesting melodies. This is why the two issues are interconnected. It’s why Courtney Marie Andrews’ songs are especially poignant; yes, she writes beautifully, but it’s her soaring vocals and the way she handles dynamics and inflections that gives them extra life. “Took You Up” is already a fine song, but it’s excellent because of the way she sings the chorus, her voice soaring for the high notes of “ain’t got much, but we got each other,” and then carefully controlled and subdued for the final, “I took you up,” sustaining the note to create just the right amount of emotion. Emotive interpreting and vocal delivery are art forms just like songwriting and musicality, and they should be respected as such.

That’s what Sarah Shook has done here; she’s respected the art of singing. She’s understood that her tone might not be a conventional one to which people would normally gravitate, and she’s done her best to improve what she can. As a vocalist, that’s all you can do; you can’t change the tone and vocal quality God gave you, nor should singers wish to because that’s what makes them unique and distinctive and stand out among the crowd. But the voice is an instrument, and it can be perfected just like any other. Dynamics, breath support, pitch, range, all of these elements can be improved–and as for reviewers, if you can criticize a guitar for being out of tune or being drowned out in the mix, or say electronic drums don’t work on a certain song, then why should you hesitate to share your thoughts on and criticisms of this particular instrument as well?…but I digress. Singers should respect their instrument instead of treating it like some sort of secondary element, simply a vehicle to convey their words. Rather, it should be a vehicle to take their words and transform them into something even more powerful, and when vocalists care about it this way, the results shine regardless of the singer’s tone. Sarah Shook proves that, and many artists could take a lesson from the dedication she’s given to her craft.

Playlists

March Playlist on Spotify and Apple Music

April 4, 2018 Megan Leave a comment

March didn’t start out strong, and for awhile, I wondered if we’d actually be able to make a worthwhile list at the end of the month. But I held out hope for the later releases, especially the March 30th albums that promised to bring us a ton of great music. And yeah, I needn’t have worried; we were blessed with great music from Courtney Marie Andrews, Kacey Musgraves, Lindi Ortega, Red Shahan, Ashley McBryde…and the list goes on. It’s as good a time as any to check out all of these artists. This has been our most diverse playlist so far, from the traditional, almost bluegrass selection by Vivian Leva to the rock anthems of Red Shahan, so there should truly be something here for everyone. As always, many thanks to Zack for supplying this on Spotify.

Apple Music users can follow me there @countryexclusive for access to all our playlists, as well as updates to the Saving Country Music top 25. For March’s playlist,
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For Spotify:

Reviews

Album Review: Palo Duro by Shotgun Rider

April 4, 2018 Megan 1 Comment

Rating: 7/10

With so many great and important albums coming out last Friday and things happening behind the scenes for me personally, it was going to take serious motivation for me to actually add another record to my list, at least not to a list of stuff I’d actually get to anytime soon. Maybe the debut album by Texas country group Shotgun Rider would go on the never-ending back burner, ready to be pulled out on a slow release week in the future. I had no intention of actually getting to it quickly–and then motivation came swiftly for me when I heard that the lead singer sounded vocally like a more polished Gary Allan. For one, that’s a really specific comparison, and for another, Gary Allan has one of the most distinctive voices in modern country music, and imagining a more polished, less gritty version of his unique tone was intriguing. I put on Palo Duro, and indeed, it’s as if the lead singer, Logan Sanford, were the love child of Gary Allan and Mike Eli of the Eli Young Band. Fans of either of these vocalists should check this out. Since I am a fan of both, this immediately had my attention, and it turned out to be a really solid Texas country debut from Shotgun rider.

Just like Red Shahan’s album, this record is named for a landmark in West Texas, in this case the majestic Palo Duro canyon stretching for miles across the Texas panhandle. However, unlike Shahan’s record, this album is a more polished blend of country and rock; rather than rugged grit, this album goes for a smoother, cleaner sound. Also, where Culberson County is a record for thinking, this one’s a record for drinking, representing the lighter, Aaron Watson/Josh Abbott side of Texas country. This relies on strong hooks and catchy melodies more than hard-hitting lyrics. That’s not to say there aren’t some smart lyrics here, but they’re not really the biggest focus with this music.

But there’s nothing wrong whatsoever with solid, hook-driven music; in fact, Americana could use more of it. It provides a nice balance between deeper albums whenever it’s done right, and this record is most certainly done right. It’s a hard album to write about because there are only so many ways to say this is solid, and you can’t really analyze the lyrics all that much. But these songs, though not especially outstanding lyrically, are enhanced by Sanford’s vocal delivery, by hooks that quickly stick in your head, and by melodies which just make much of this album infectious.

The production goes a long way to separate this from other similar albums as well. It does a great job blending the classic sounds of Texas country, with equal parts crying steel and screaming electric guitar. Most of these tracks are also built around minor chords and/or darker keys, so there’s an element of seriousness to songs that might otherwise be lightweight. “Texas Rain,” probably the strongest selection here, does an excellent job building throughout the song to convey the storm of emotions this narrator is facing, as he can’t help but love a woman who comes and goes just like the West Texas rain, never staying long enough to actually provide relief. And sometimes, it’s just the passion and sincerity of Sanford’s delivery that makes a song work, like on “Lucky Him,” as the main character laments the fact that his ex is finding everything she ever dreamed of with another man. George Strait is cited as one of this band’s main influences, and that is evident here in this track, which sounds like a modern version of “You Look so Good in Love.”

As mentioned, the lyrics are secondary, but for the most part, they are solid. This is a debut, and it’s a strong one, but Shotgun Rider can certainly improve their songwriting on future releases since most of this doesn’t really go deeper than the surface. Still, except for the last three tracks, the writing works well enough. It’s on these last three, and particularly on the closer, “The Night Don’t Love You,” that the writing really becomes a liability, and this serves to end a really promising album on a bit of a whimper.

This is not a record that’s going to blow you away or give you some profound new revelation about life. But it works well for what it is, a hook-driven slice of modern Texas country music. We need more albums like this providing energy and stepping up to balance out the great songwriting efforts by other artists. We need more music like this to prove you can make a good album without being especially deep or artsy or making some grand statement. In a perfect world, this is the kind of music we’d be championing in the mainstream, and in that fantasy world, it would do well. Really strong debut, and I’m excited to see where Shotgun Rider will go from here.

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Commentary

The Problem With the Mainstream Media Coverage of Country Music

April 3, 2018 Megan 3 Comments

Well, Kacey Musgrave’s new album has certainly caused a stir.

At this point, I’m sure many of you are tired of the rash of strong, divisive opinions surrounding this project. Was she uniting fans through genre-defying music, or selling out and forsaking sound and substance? Is the album even country, and what is “real country” these days anyway? I’ve already given my thoughts on her album, as well as discussed the entire genre debate in detail with Zack of The Musical divide, and after this, I promise I’ll just shut up and let you all come to your own conclusions about it all. But this portrayal of Golden Hour by mainstream media who are largely ignorant of the country genre as the album of the year, or some forward-thinking opus that’s “so gutsy it’s not even country” has got to be addressed.

It’s not that these non-country writers shouldn’t cover country music; in fact, the country genre gets ignored too much by the mainstream media and is often given only a cursory glance. And it’s not even that media members who are crowning Kacey Musgraves as some sort of queen of country are necessarily writing a false narrative; maybe they believe the things they write, and probably they do, given the lack of knowledge of other artists who are pushing the genre forward right along with Musgraves. And notice I said “right along with,” as opposed to “better than,” because Courtney Marie Andrews and Lindi Ortega and others aren’t doing more for the genre than Kacey Musgraves; rather, they’re all doing it in different ways, and all of it’s working very well. So even though I have a serious problem with the way the mainstream media is praising this album, I don’t think the answer is to pit other artists against each other.

The problem, though, is the underlying message conveyed by these headlines and by these narratives. Kacey’s country album is “so gutsy it’s not even country,” held up as a record that’s so forward-thinking that it’s left the restrictive, claustrophobic nature of country music behind. Musgraves meant to unite with this album and not to divide; she meant to expand her sound and bring country music to listeners who might not otherwise know the genre. She didn’t make this album to cast the bonds of country away, and that’s how it’s being portrayed by some of the media.

This is disrespectful to country as a genre, and this isn’t about traditional versus contemporary, it’s about the fact that it’s considered brave and risk-taking to abandon country altogether. It’s viewed as an inferior art form sonically, and more than that, it’s held up by many as the sound track to backward rural American life. It’s looked down on as the music of rednecks, of racists, of a backward and simple people who need to be brought into the modern world. Obviously, politics drive some of that narrative, and country purists sometimes don’t help the perceptions by putting their own restrictive limits on things, as we discussed in the collaboration, but these are both topics that can wait for another day. The point is, that putting words like “gutsy” and “country” in opposition to one another, as if country can’t earn this distinction on its own merit, is dangerous and derisive to the music we all love.

Does that mean these writers should stop covering country music? absolutely not; rather, it means they should broaden their perspectives and consider other artists. It’s fine to start with big names like Musgraves, and it’s fine if you don’t care for Lindi Ortega’s or Courtney Marie Andrews’ albums as much, but covering them only adds more context and knowledge of the genre. I can write a piece about a pop album; I can even recommend it and say I enjoyed it. But I can’t write with the same expertise and authority of a pop critic, and it’s disrespectful to the art to pretend that I know what I’m talking about if I’ve only listened to three pop records that year. This is the problem with mainstream critics, not that they shouldn’t write about or cover country, but that it should be considered an equal with the other genres of music, an art form to be explored and loved right beside pop or rock or rap. And yet it gets overlooked, except when projects like this come out. And then, instead of letting it be a window to the sounds and stories of country music, they craft narratives around it framing it a some sort of chain-breaking moment for Kacey Musgraves. Let them embrace country music right along with the rest of us, and then if they want to assign all these achievements to Kacey, I will respect their opinions and understand that their views come from a knowledge of the genre and a passion for the music.

That said, it’s not the ignorance of country music which ultimately makes their narrative a problem, it’s that their narrative comes from a place of condescension, a place where the music we love is meant to be cast aside in favor of progressive ideals and sounds. And in framing their opinions this way, they’ve only done a disservice to Kacey Musgraves and Golden Hour, because this is a personal album, meant to bridge gaps, to unite rather than divide, and to open herself up to the world rather than point fingers at judgmental people. Regardless of how you feel about it, it’s meant to bring more people to country music, not to turn them away, and it’s a shame that the media circus surrounding this may ultimately have that effect.

Reviews

Album Review: Red Shahan–Culberson County

April 3, 2018 Megan Leave a comment

Rating: 8/10

As was ironically just mentioned on this platform a few days ago, I was blessed with the opportunity in college to sing in a traveling band. This came up in a recent post because the director was Vince Gill’s guitar teacher–but he was also the youngest member of Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys, and if you talked to the man for more than five minutes, he’d surely tell you about it. He considered it his finest accomplishment, and we all had to learn some Bob Wills songs in our time because he used his connections to take us out to the Texas panhandle every year to a little town called Turkey, the hometown of Wills where we performed in a dance hall with a crumbling old stage that the Texas Playboys had played on in their day.

The Turkey, Texas, trip was one we all dreaded. For a weekend, we would be cut off from society, seemingly suspended in 1927. We were isolated from everything, and the stillness was jarring. You didn’t even here cars on the street in that town, just coyotes and church bells. Cell reception was nonexistent; you told your family where you were going and didn’t contact them again for 48 hours, until you got back across the Oklahoma border to civilization. I can still remember the horrified reaction of a friend from Rhode Island, already having enough of a culture shock from her move to our little college town of Chickasha, Oklahoma, when she realized her phone wouldn’t work in West Texas at all. It seemed like an ugly, desolate place hopelessly trapped inside the past, and with nothing to do one afternoon, either in the town or on our devices, we all sat on the porch of the dilapidated Turkey Hotel and bonded, making up a horror story we dubbed the “Turkey Texas Tragedy,” detailing how and in which order each of us would be murdered out here in this godforsaken wilderness.

Who would be inspired by such a place to make a record? And yet, it’s the desolation and emptiness of West Texas that Red Shahan chooses to bring to life here on this album, and not only that, he manages to capture the beauty in the place as well. You hear a song like the title track, named for a county in West Texas with a population barely over 2,000, and you understand why Shahan calls for us to “keep the lonely places lonely” and away from “anyone who doesn’t understand.” Even if you’re not from West Texas, it’s a relatable sentiment, as highways replace back roads, and rural communities grow into towns. The wide open spaces in our country and the world are becoming extinct, and Red Shahan laments this with a heartbreak that comes to life with the grit in his voice and will be relatable to many. “How They Lie” also captures this, as he sings of people losing their land to the government, being lied to about their intentions to take everything for which these people have worked so hard.

But more than the lyrics, it’s the sound that paints a picture of the isolated corners of West Texas and beyond. It’s the reverb that’s used to wonderful effect throughout this album to create an ever-present echo, as if this whole record were made in a canyon under the endless Texas sky. It’s the reverb throughout it all which sets the mood and serves as the backdrop, but the sonic influences are varied. We have rockers like the excellent openers “Waterbill” and “Enemy,” serving to kick off this album in fine fashion. “Waterbill” is the best opener I’ve heard so far this year, and with a line like “you ain’t livin’ unless you’re livin’ life broke,” it’s impossible not to enjoy this. “Enemy” goes for a darker, heavier atmosphere, an appropriate choice since this song deals with the dark side of small-town life–interesting to note that both red shahan and Ashley McBryde have just released songs referencing meth, an occurrence which has been surprisingly rare in the country genre given its prevalence in rural communities like this. And speaking of country, if you thought this album was purely a rock effort, take a listen to “Roses” and “How They Lie,” each blending country elements with that spacey rock production to create something exciting and forward-thinking. The title track does an excellent job of blending acoustic and electric guitar in a way that is becoming a signature sound for Red Shahan. I’d also argue that even when the sound leans heavily toward the rock end of the spectrum, much of this is more concerned with its lyrical content than most rock music, a characteristic certainly common to the country genre. Then, when you thought you had Red Shahan completely figured out sonically, he throws “Try” in at the end and displays a bluesy, soulful influence. Meanwhile, through all this, there’s that desolate, empty, West Texas backdrop behind everything to perfectly encapsulate the sound of that region.

While my criticisms for this album are few and far between, I will say that the lyrics are certainly weak in places. “6 Feet” sounds very cool, but it’s just not developed enough lyrically to really stand out. And “Revolution” is admittedly a really fun track, one you probably shouldn’t try to decipher beyond the surface anyway, but it’s hard not to point out it ultimately says nothing lyrically, especially when you understand that Red Shahan gave us songs like “Waterbill” and “Someone Someday,” both of which are lively and upbeat but which contain smart, substantive songwriting as well. Shahan can also sound a bit flat vocally at times, but after hearing the raw power with which he navigates and slays “Try,” I think that’s more of a style thing than a vocal issue. For example, the chorus of “Culberson County” is really flat in places, but this also serves to add dissonance and speak to the harsh beauty of the land.

This album just gets better and better with every listen. There’s something here for everyone, from the more country-sounding stuff like “Roses” to the intense rock of “Enemy” and everything in between. It’s raw and gritty in its sound and sometimes harsh in its message, a reflection of the place and people which inspired this record. Maybe we can’t agree on whether Kacey Musgraves or Ashley McBryde gave us the better mainstream album Friday, but we should all be able to come together in agreement of the fact that Red Shahan is a badass, and that this is a great, genre-bending, forward-thinking record. Don’t let it be one you overlook.