Rating: 7/10
Isn’t country music a beautiful thing? Just in the last three reviews, we’ve found it in Kentucky, (Rhyan Sinclair), Oregon, (Wes Youssi & the County Champs), and Massachusetts (Lori McKenna.) Country music can stir the hearts and minds of anyone from anywhere, and to those who think it can only originate in the American South and West to be considered “authentic,” you’re only limiting yourself and keeping yourself from good music. Country music is not about a place, it’s about a spirit, and sometimes, especially in 2018, we must seek out that spirit all over America and the world in order to find those within whom the passion for country music still lingers.
Today, our search takes us to Montreal, Canada, to a group known as El Coyote, one of the few groups left keeping the country tradition of three-part female harmonies alive. I noted when discussing the Trio record recently that El Coyote, along with many of these current groups, is more a folk effort than a country one, and that especially rings true of the lyrical content here. But the arrangements are definitely more simple and country-leaning than what you’ll find from others, and you’ll hear steel guitar and dobro in healthy amounts on this record. There’s also a little Latin flavor in these guitar licks, giving a bit of context to the name El coyote. The strength, though, is definitely the melodies and the beautiful harmonies of Angela Desveaux, Michelle Tompkins, and Katie Moore. Listening to this album through headphones or stereo speakers where you can more easily hear each element of the harmony is highly recommended; it is flawless, and although each of them takes the lead on certain tracks, none of them seem like a “lead singer” more than the others. Rather, much like the Trio record, which I also happened to be spinning while contemplating this album, it seems to be a case of three great singers making something together that is even better than the sum of their parts or what any of them could have achieved on their own.
The songwriting here is subtle and reveals itself with more listens; in this aspect, the group leans more toward the folk end of the spectrum. But it’s hard not to appreciate a song like “lighten up Diane,” where the narrator is the other woman who’s finally become disenchanted with the facade of her relationship. The song is framed so well with the opening verse speaking of how she always seems to be late for things, and how she’ll have no pictures in her photo album to capture the passing of time. It doesn’t make a lot of sense until we learn she’s the other woman, and then it becomes genius songwriting–she’s too late to have this man in the proper sense, and she won’t have any photos of them together because their love has been a secret, so it won’t even look real to everyone else. The melodies and especially the harmonies draw you in on this record long before the lyrics, but the beauty in the writing continues to reveal itself with each subsequent listen.
The biggest criticism people will have for this is that it can be sleepy. Ironically, the album’s only lively tune, “Tip Jar,” really draws attention to this. Their voices are so suited for the softer, more introspective stuff that it’s almost a surprise when “Tip Jar’ makes its appearance as the sixth track, and the group sings about being tired of life “sleepin’ when everyone’s workin’, workin’ when everyone’s livin’ it up.” drums are also a rare occurrence on this album, so when they come in here, they provide a nice moment of energy. “Tip Jar” is an album highlight and proves they can pull off more upbeat songs very well. Consequently, it makes me wish they’d have gone this direction a bit more; I like the songs here, but the main thing that keeps this album a good one instead of a great one is just that it’s too sleepy, a bit too safe. It’s a debut, and I’d like to see them up the tempo some on a future record.
As it is, though, this is one of those albums that’s perfect on a lazy, rainy Sunday afternoon. It’s a mood record, and if you’re a fan of the softer, more relaxed stuff like this, you’ll really enjoy it, probably more so than me. And if you are starved for the sounds of three-part female harmony backed by more country-sounding instrumentation, this is certainly a good place to turn. It will be sleepy for some, but it’s a good, solid foundation for El Coyote to build on, especially in an area of country which is currently so underappreciated.