Blue Rider Songs - Scott Hirsch (2016)
Hirsch is in the similarly Americana-themed Hiss Golden Messenger. I don’t know that band very well and I have no idea how much of their musical flavor he’s responsible for, but it covers a lot of the same territory.
What’s interesting to me here is how different the approach is to recording. We end up with a very modern-rock-sounding album of what would otherwise be alt country songs.
Hirsch’s guitar treatments remind me of Dire Straits: they punch in and out of the mix, sometimes completely taking over a track but often just adding another voice.
The keyboard sounds are modern; no old-timey honky tonk piano. The horns add some color, and in places are replaced with washes of what I assume are synths or something electronic. There are similar textures from slide guitar, treated differently enough that you won’t mistake it but doing the same thing.
Tracks I Liked
Loss Of Forgetfulness - The best example of what I’m talking about with the modern rock sonics to give a very different sound than you might expect
No Wife - a quick instrumental that’s the sharpest Dire Straits quote you’ll find here
The Sun Comes Up A Purple Diamond - fantastic track with a great lyric and a laid-back vibe that reminds me of the good version of Dylan’s When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky
Sundown Highway - brings together a lot of the various textures of the early part of the album into one concentrated blast of slightly overcast daylight.
