GRANT-LEE PHILLIPS : THE NARROWS

1. Tennessee Rain
2. Smoke And Sparks
3. Moccasin Creek
4. Cry Cry
5. Holy Irons
6. Yellow Weeds
7. Loaded Gun
8. Rolling Pin
9. Taking On Weight In Hot Springs
10. Just Another River Town
11. No Mercy In July
12. San Andreas Fault
13. Find My Way

Label : Yep Roc Records

Release Date : March 18, 2016

Length : 54:12

Review (AllMusic) : Grant-Lee Phillips has a voice glorious and strong enough that he could sing nearly anything and his loyal fan base would be happy to hear it. But after moving from California to Tennessee in 2013, Phillips sounds like a happier and invigorated man on 2016's The Narrows, which boasts a lively and engaging spark. On the surface, The Narrows doesn't feel all that much peppier than most of Phillips' solo catalog, but the pace of this music is less lazy than contemplative. Backed by Jerry Roe on drums and Lex Price on bass, most of these tunes settle into an easy but determined groove, but when Phillips turns up the gas on "Loaded Gun" and "Tennessee Rain," the effect is powerful and liberating. There's a subtle passion in Phillips' performances here that makes all the difference, a pale fire that brings these tunes to life. Though he's moved south, Phillips writes a lot about his memories of life in the West on The Narrows. He calls up evocative images of family, childhood, and the extended landscapes of California, and the mood is more artful than nostalgic, finding beauty in both good and harrowing experiences. Perhaps Phillips had to leave California behind to see it clearly, but The Narrows is a striking chronicle of life in the Golden State. As a piece of record making, The Narrows is simple but deeply satisfying, as good as anything Phillips has made since going solo. Hearing him sing is always a richly enjoyable experience, but The Narrows delivers as both form and content. It's recommended to anyone who has ever found pleasure in his work.

Review (Pop Matters) : Grant Lee Phillips is one of those songwriters who has stuck around. He's the healthy-looking fellow at the corner of the bar, smile curled around the corner of his mouth to signal he's down for a chat, that he's got stories you wouldn't believe. In the world of country music, there's value in his brand of wisdom. Phillips is not, however, a member of the laureled Nashville royalty. Phillips' arrival at a country-folk sound, which he's grown into beautifully over the course of three or four albums, was not an inevitability. Born and raised in California, Phillips spent most of his career in Los Angeles. Like his close Canadian analogue, Ron Sexsmith, he enjoyed a moment of '90s acclaim with his band Grant-Lee Buffalo, putting out great acoustic rock records on Warner subsidiary, Slash Records - as well as Bob Mould's "Singles Only" label - and carrying a loyal following in tow for the better part of three decades. On The Narrows, his wisdom is really starting to show. The 13 tracks on The Narrows are relaxed and fresh takes on classic and contemporary folk and country, all guided by Phillips' focused, tip-of-the-cap tenor, with just the right amount of gravel. Album opener, "Tennessee Rain" is a driving, bittersweet slice of country, that, alongside "Rolling Pin", an uptempo honky tonk tune, displays a knack for the country anthem. His storytelling, as on "Loaded Gun", displays a different set of bonafides, bearing distinct shades of Merle Haggard, another unlikely yet singular voice in country music who similarly blurred the lines of folk and country music. The bulk of the record, however, runs at its own speed. Its bread and butter is the introspective, memorable, slow-tempo ballad, like "Smoke and Sparks", his poetic march about mortality or "Cry, Cry", his alt-country bounce with marimba-accented percussion about the Indian Removal. The album's closing ballad, "Find My Way", is a Nashville Skyline-esque portrait of an artist struggling to maintain clarity on tour. The narrative of a lost outsider struggling to find his way - on a personal level, or connected explicitly to his native heritage (his parents being of Creek and Cherokee descent, respectively) - is rife throughout. The promise of definite arrival continually evades Phillips in his songs. It's a sign of both his charismatic wisdom and the hallmark of a good country song: an awareness that trouble may well remain around every corner. Recently relocated with his family from LA to Tennessee, Phillips' newcomer status is reflected in the production. Track one, "Tennessee Rain", like many others on the record, distinctly lacks typical Nashville polish. Most tracks have more in common with the Band's soft-rock sound, whose song craft (particularly songs like "Evangeline") and penchant for shouted backing vocals can be heard in the great mid-record ballads, "Yellow Weeds" and "Holy Irons". Phillips seems more comfortable with a little delay on the vocals; he swallows his words from time to time and allows his guitarists to let loose with the reverb. In short, he's not afraid to let his rock 'n' roll colors show. And while this can - at times - dull the songs' wits, the arrangements' subdued focus feels intentional over the course of the record, like a well-earned preference of a veteran. While it may require more leaning-in on the part of the listener, what you find when you do will make it well worth your while.

Review (Record Collector) : For his eighth album, Grant-Lee Phillips has composed a sturdy set of 13 songs that are by turns cleansing (Tennessee Rain), bucolic (Taking On Weight In Hot Springs - in which the narrator is moving "slower than molasses"), old-time Western (Holy Irons) or questing (Moccasin Creek - in which the protagonist is looking for a new beginning by dipping his feet in the eponymous stream). The largely rural subject matter can be seen to reflect Phillips's move to Nashville after decades in Los Angeles - perhaps seeking not only peace, quiet and the space to breathe, but also safety from the subject of track 12, San Andreas Fault. Phillips has also said he feels a connection to the homelands of his Native American ancestors: "I'm captivated by the stories and the energy here." The music is played with laidback precision, immaculately arranged and produced with a consistently warm vibe. The components employ the signifiers of country - banjo, pedal steel, heartache, the landscape itself - without falling into the tired tropes of country, just as the electric guitars, drums, bass and loping rhythms avoid the posturing of rock. Full marks to multi-instrumentalist Phillips, his drummer Jerry Roe and bassist Lex Price.