
Americana Music Association adds new Megan & Shane album Peaks and Valleys to their This Week in Americana roundup alongside Duane Betts – Ryan Curtis – Jessye DeSilva – Gabe Lee – Nick Moss Band – Colter Wall – Margo Price – SUSTO and more.
Many songs have been written about the state of Tennessee, but this one – the opener for the upcoming live set by Bonnie & the Mere Mortals, Live & Unplugged, (out August 4) – is surely a first. Written by frontwoman Bonnie Ramone, the track takes a southern gothic musical approach to a tale about loss of belonging. To have a queer identifying artist write about Tennessee as a place they’ve felt embraced is progress… even if the song is lamenting the loss of that feeling in the wake of challenges to freedoms we all hold dear.
If the lead single held up a personal experience for us to see, latest track ‘Skunks’ welcomes the audience themselves into this eerie world. A kind fictitious pest control advert which warps into something stranger, moving from squirrels and skunks and centipedes to a whole host of other services. “We’ll sterilize your yards / Run your cats around the park / Now try our rental cars / Stop by our sandwich bar,” as Sparks sings in one of the verses. “Call us anytime at night / Call us day or night.” This final offer captures the track’s weird tension, rich with the southern gothic sensibilities for which the band have become known, playing as something between an invite and warning to those on the outside.
Brownderville’s blurry soundscapes create a feeling of heartache and loneliness. Kenney adds his touch by dressing up a simple acoustic guitar arpeggio with programmed drums, dreamy background vocals, and twinkling synths. Everything is combined to create a beautiful picture of emotion and atmosphere.
This effort starts pensive & folky but then by “Rose Colored Glasses,” Megan Baskerville’s pipes really start to percolate. The song is superb & her vocals are like Benedictine & Brandy. The duo of Megan and Shane Baskerville is a bit country-based in a Gram Parsons-Emmylou Harris style.