As soon as I say the words, “Lonesome River Band” I’m sure many of my readers had initial reactions both good and band. One might have thought, “Dan Tyminskyi, Ronnie Bowman and Sammy Shelor in the same band? Doesn’t get any better!” While another reader might be thinking, “Aren’t they the ones who were adding pianos and other country instruments to their repertoire before it became acceptable?” Both of these thoughts can have merit. It is blasphemous, even today, to discuss LRB like they aren’t one of the most instrumentally and vocally talent bands in the business. That much is objective fact. But, you’re not going to hear me argue if you believe that LRB’s enthusiasm towards modern country aesthetics has possibly ruined the trajectory of bluegrass. LRB’s new album Mayhayley’s House presents this dichotomy in spades.
Similar to their previous release Bridging the Tradition, LRB takes a conscious strategy to mix in warhorse material with more country oriented tunes. It’s clear their goal demographic are people who have never heard “Fly Around my Pretty Little Miss” and will connect emotionally to the more patriotic and emotional songs like “Old Coyote Town”. For the goal audience, the first two tracks especially “As Lonesome as I am” show the listener what bluegrass is supposed to be all about: strong banjo presence, and high, piercing vocal harmonies. “Shelor” and “Banjo presence” are basically synonymous, and Andy Ball’s departure has not affected the harmonies between Brandon Rickman and current mandolin player and IBMA momentum vocalist nominee Jesse Smathers. The held out 2-5 outro is a nice little twist off the traditional 1-4-5 progressive and allows Shelor to pound those 5-1 turnarounds better than anybody else in the business. The 4-1-2-5 bridge is also a great showcase for Smather’s high tenor which fits well with Rickman’s country twang.
The title track follows these two bright, up-beat numbers and showcases production value one normally doesn’t even see in country recordings. The growling bass soon builds and gives way to the whole band’s groove which is accentuated by Shelor’s run. The song tells the story of an oracle woman born with “A preacher’s tongue and a lawyer’s mind/she will tell your fortune for a buck and a dime.” The 7 and 4 heavy progression is necessary for the tone and mood of the song, and is the only time on the album when the bluesy scales are used to this degree. Due to its separation in melody from the rest of the album, its disappointing that neither Shelor or Smathers get down and dirty on their breaks as much as they have shown in the past. While the harmonies are strong, Smather’s middling and seemingly aimless break reminds the audience that the incredibly talented Andy Ball has departed and will no longer add his instrumental zeal to the project that would sound better with it.
The middle of the album is contrastingly the strongest, but also a grand example of the wrong direction bluegrass has been heading in the last few years. “Blackbirds and Crows” is an old Nashville Bluegrass Band song that most definitely didn’t have drums or the thumping of an electric bass that creates the “hoedown” aesthetic that bluegrass seemingly tried to avoid for the majority of its history. While the thump of the bass and drums works moderately well on this medium paced song about murder, it sounds incredibly out of place on the next track “Ida Red” which seems to be going twice the speed of the last track.
“Diggin” and “Lonesome Bone” are nothing special, but sound like godsends next to “I think I’m Going to be Alright” which combines the lyrics of a Miley Cyrus song with the melody as complex as a lullaby. Smathers’s bluesy fills also fit terrible with the easy-going melody and lyrics of the song. The whole, as well as the sum of the parts of this track are disastrous.
Luckily this is contrasted with the strongest song on the album, “It Feels Real Good Going Down”. Again, due to the moderate tempo the drums simply add more umph to the beat and don’t distract from the song. The lyrics are distracting because they’re so damn good. The chorus theme of “It Goes Real Good Going Down” comes up in numerous hilarious ways. My favorite is the second verse which goes, “ well out here in the bars, you don’t have to look to hard to find someone to get you through the night/ it ain’t like the love we had/ but tonight it ain’t half bad might be all I need to feel alright/ Oh it feels real good going down”
It’s a shame that the LRB’s return to electronic and country aesthetics couldn’t have led to a more energetic output like “Feels Real Good Going Down” and numerous tracks off of Bridging the Tradition. Instead, LRB’s previous connection to drums has now gone full circle, and they have sadly resorted to past habits.
