KIM RICHEY : EVERY NEW BEGINNING

KIM RICHEY : EVERY NEW BEGINNING

Chapel Avenue
Goodbye Ohio
A Way Around
Joy Rider
Floating On The Surface
The World Is Flat
Take The Cake
Come Back To Me
Feel This Way
Moment In The Sun

Label : Yep Roc Records

Release Date : May 24, 2024

Length : 35:10

Review (Heaven) : Deze tien songs van de Amerikaanse Kim Richey vormen haar tiende album in dertig jaar: ze zijn het product van een gestaag doorschrijvende singer-songwriter die meeschreef aan hits van countrysterren Trisha Yearwood en Brooks & Dunn, al was dat in het begin van haar loopbaan. Inmiddels zijn haar songs blijkbaar persoonlijker geworden en daardoor dus moeilijker te coveren, al laat zich raden waarom: Richey wisselt pianoballads af met uptemposongs die bepaald worden door gitaren en een folksong met Keltische elementen. Dat zorgt voor veel muzikale afwisseling. Haar musici zijn getalenteerde veteranen die zich in Richey’s dienst stellen en de songs de kleur geven die ze nodig hebben: Neilson Hubbard op drums, Lex Price op bas, Dawn Mitchell op piano en producer Doug Lancio op gitaar. Haar teksten gaan over de grote onderwerpen. Die lijken autobiografisch, maar zijn tegelijkertijd universeel. Ze kijkt terug op een onbezorgde jeugd in de stemmige, door akoestische gitaar en piano gekleurde opener Chapel Avenue, maar vaker op een vervluchtigde liefde (Take The Cake en Feel This Way), al is die relatie nog niet altijd formeel voorbij. In A Way Around, Floating On The Surface en The World Is Flat bezingt Richey de uitzichtloosheid van die realiteit. Vooral in de songs waarin de muziek ruimte laat, blijkt haar stem effectief in het oproepen van emotie: haar verdriet om het onvermijdelijke klinkt daarin net zo duidelijk door als haar verlangen naar meer. In het afsluitende Moment In The Sun blijkt de kracht van doorgaan tegen beter weten in: daarin breekt het optimisme toch nog door.

Review (No Depression) : There’s excitement at the start of something new, but oftentimes the magic is in the middle. The songs on Kim Richey’s new album, Every New Beginning, build their stories from looking back on the past, looking toward something better just ahead, or, sometimes, just looking around, with scenes that feel drawn from listeners’ own stories. Kim Richey (photo by Stacie Huckeba) In her nearly 30-year career, Richey has mastered the art of songwriting, finding big truths in small moments and winning fans with lyrics both witty and searing. Fellow songwriters are among her fans: Radney Foster and Mary Chapin Carpenter are a few who have recorded her songs, and Jason Isbell, Trisha Yearwood, Reba McEntire, and many more have invited her to add vocals to their recordings. Brandi Carlile, who cites her as an influence, featured Richey alongside her in a songwriters set dubbed “Titans of Americana” at this year’s Girls Just Wanna Weekend. But it’s everyday moments, not the glare of the spotlight, that cast a spell on Every New Beginning. “Chapel Avenue” collects scenes familiar to many from childhood and then says a wistful goodbye to it all. “Goodbye Ohio” bids farewell, too, but to a relationship that was home until it wasn’t. Moving on is hard, as Richey makes us feel acutely in these songs, but staying still isn’t any better an option. On “Floating on the Surface,” a peaceful, easy groove comes laced with an edge that suggests what’s underneath can only be ignored so long: “Floating on the surface / never making waves / At the bottom of the sea / There’s too much mystery.” The moods and melodies that move behind Richey’s insightful lyrics get a boost on Every New Beginning from some fresh instrumental directions. “Come Back to Me” gets an old-time tinge from fiddle and banjo, while a flugelhorn adds extra punch to the bright closer “Moment in the Sun.” And a full fleet of keys — including piano, pump organ, Wurlitzer, and mellotron — wrings every bit of heartbreak out of “The World Is Flat,” about a relationship beyond mending. Standout “Feel This Way” doesn’t need a lot of instrumental flash; the lyrics do the knocking down all on their own. It’s about the mind knowing that there’s going to be an eventual ease-up to heartbreak, but the heart sure feeling like it’s forever. “They say one day I’ll look back and laugh / If they wanna make it better they gotta do better than that,” Richey sings before arriving at the repeated line that builds the chorus: “It hurts like it’s always gonna feel this way.” But “Moment in the Sun” deposits listeners on that sweet other side after all, depicting a time when “you shimmer and you shine.” After all the moving-on Richey presents on Every New Beginning, this, she declares, is a moment in which to stay a while. And whether this moment finds you at the start, middle, or end of a journey, Every New Beginning has a song to get you through.

Review (Americana UK) : Kim Richey’s songwriting and vocals have been appreciated by and influenced a host of other artists, including Brandi Carlile, Trisha Yearwood, Jason Isbell, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Patty Loveless, and Chuck Prophet to name only a few, and she is a renowned serial songwriting collaborator. Her new album ‘Every New Beginning’ is her first album of new songs since 2018’s ‘Edgeland’ and her first new recording since 2020’s ‘A Long Way Back: The Songs of Glimmer’. The ten songs were written, or co-written, by Kim Richey over several years, and include her first songs written with her East Nashville neighbour Aaron Lee Tasjan. While the album title hints at a new phase of her career, Kim Richey’s love of mixing a sense of darkness and humour is unimpaired. Kim Richey renewed her relationship with producer Doug Lancio, of John Hiatt, Nancy Griffith and Patty Griffin fame, and recorded with a core band that included Lancio with Neilson Hubbard, long-time collaborator Dan Mitchell, and Lex Price. Guests include Sav Bulst and Katie Larson plus collaborators Aaron Lee Tasjan and Mando Saenz. The opening track ‘Chapel Avenue’ is an evocative and beautifully nostalgic look at childhood, but there is a sting in its tail when Kim Richey sings about what has been lost since that golden time. Leaving home and the familiar is explored on ‘Leaving Ohio’ which also gives listeners a glimpse of Richey’s pop credentials. Richey seems to enjoy wallowing in sadness with the help of Aaron Lee Tasjan on ‘A Way Around’ as favourite records add to the sense of being overwhelmed by loneliness, but the tempo is medium and anything but dirge-like. One of the record’s highlights is ‘Joy Rider’ which is a celebration of determination and single-mindedness. It is inspired by seeing a kid regularly riding a mini motorbike around Richey’s neighbourhood during the pandemic, and the song perfectly captures the spirit of rebellion and movement. It is also the first collaboration with Aaron Lee Tasjan and is clear evidence of the potential of that partnership. Another standout track is ‘Floating On The Surface’ which is a demo recorded with co-writer Roger Nichols that couldn’t be improved on during the main recording session. It places Kim Richey’s vocal talents front and centre and shines a light on her little-known percussive skills. ‘The World Is Flat’ is almost chilling in its description of the breakup of a relationship with everyday plain language used to great effect. Richey is in a more wistful mood on the acoustic ‘Take The Cake’. There is a strong bluegrass sound to ‘Come Back To Me’, but Kim Richey mixes it up with some pop influences as well. The pop influence is there on ‘Feel This Way’ as well, but this time there is a country soul feel with the piano and B3 organ to the fore, and there is some grit in Richey’s vocals. The closing track, ‘Moment In The Sun’ is another feature for Kim Richey’s vocals, and it is clear that she can sing any genre and still sound convincing as this song would be quite at home on any mainstream playlist. This may be Kim Richey’s tenth album, and she may be at the wrong end of a thirty-year career, she may also have had to face the new realities of the music business when she made ‘Every New Beginning’ but it is one of the best examples of her vocal and songwriting skills with its mix of genres and styles. The new-found working relationship with Aaron Lee Tasjan shows that Kim Richey’s songwriting skills are undimmed even at this stage of her long career. ‘Every New Beginning’ is not only a highlight of her career but also a perfect introduction to an artist who deserves to have more recognition from the listening public rather than just that of her fellow artists and songwriters.