Posts By 75orLess
Allysen Caller ‘Mumblin’ Sue’ review at No Depression
You can read the review here.
If you’re in Austin this week, one performer to check out at SXSW is “ghost folk” artist Allysen Callery. Hailing from tiny Rhode Island, she was just selected as one of 40 “intriguing” artists to watch at SXSW by NPR critic Bob Boilen. Although she is pretty well known in New England (2012 Providence Phoenix Singer-Songwriter of the Year), and has a dedicated following in Europe and Australia, she’s yet to break out on the national scene. Her recent release, Mumblin’ Sue, could change that.
Callery lives by the ocean in Bristol, Rhode Island, across the pond from Bristol, UK. Her style is heavily influenced by the British Folk Revival of the 1960s and early 70s. In an interview she noted, “I grew up listening to my father’s old Steeleye Span, Incredible String Band, and Fairport Convention records. When I started writing music of my own, it was noted in some of the first reviews that the ‘ghost of British Isles Folk’ was in my music.”
She’s recorded several albums that show that influence, most recently, Mumblin’ Sue, released in June of 2013. The collection of songs is notable for its intricate guitar work – no overdubs here – just pure melodic magic. In fact her fingerpicked guitar feels more like her singing partner; sometimes leading her, other times, seemingly answering her lyrics. The interplay between her voice and her guitar is unique.
Her lyrics are just on the edge of surreal, slightly off center, and intensely passionate. Her voice is unique, but not unfamiliar. Sounding a little like early Joni Mitchell, with a voice airy and mystical, she’s a fairy whisperer. But her words speak to the human experience. In “The Hollow,” she asks…
In Your Hollow
Do You Collect the Sunlight
In Your Hollow
Lonely
On the brilliant “Lily of the Valley,” her nuanced guitar work equals her understated delivery.
Someone had to be the hard headed hammer
Well let me be the part that pries the nails out
When all of the walls built between us are gone
We’ll lie in the grass
In the warm sun
She has some fun on this album too. On the delicate “I Had a Lover I Thought Was My Own,” the narrator falls for the town gigolo. In “My Carolina,” whimsical lyrics match an upbeat tempo…
Meet Me Midnight
Soft step candlelight
And I’ll slip inside
I’m on fire driving down your highway
Callery’s warmth and delicate delivery comes through in concert; her “look” is reminiscent of early Joan Baez. There’s a lot going on in her music, and it’s well worth a listen. No doubt, there are many talented artists deserving of more widespread recognition – Allysen Callery is one of them.
Mark Cutler and the Men of Great Courage at The Parlour
with Sea Foam
The Parlour
North Main Street
Providence, RI
9pm
Allysen Callery at Stephen F’s Bar
Stephen F’s Bar
Austin, TX
9pm
Allysen Callery at Koop Radio 91.7
You can listen to the performance here.
Koop Radio 91.7
Airport Blvd Austin, TX 78723
11am CST
Baylies Band at The Parlour
with Minibeast, Gezan (from Japan), Cave Bears, and Viennagram
The Parlour
No. Main Street
Providence, RI
Dennis Most and the Instigators at the Waterfront
The Waterfront
Holyoke, Mass
Sick Pills – Sickening
75OL-184 Sick Pills – Sickening CD
$7.00 S&H Included
Digital download is available here
Track Listing
1. Wormfood
2. Nothing To Me
3. Get You Off My Mind
4. Evil In Your Eye
5. Summer’s Gone
6. Dead Teenager
7. If It’s Real
8. Growing Up
9. The Beach
10. He’s A Creep
11. I Wanna Be Adored
12. Without You
The debut album by Sick Pills recorded in the Fall of 2013 at Feedback Studios by Ron Poitras. 12 songs heavily influenced by 1980’s underground college rock. Sometimes noisy, sometimes poppy, and sometimes both! Influences include: Chameleons UK, Jesus and Mary Chain, Sonic Youth.
Baylies Band at No Problemo
with Lazerüth and Gezan (Japan)
No Problemo
New Bedford, Massachusetts
10pm
Allysen Callery at the Columbus Theater
with Marissa Nadler, Alec K. Redfearn & Orion Rigel Dommisse.
Columbus Theater
Providence, RI
8pm
Blood Moons and Six Star General at Pour Farm
Blood Moons, Six Star General, and Nick Sundman
Pour Farm
780 Purchase St
New Bedford, Mass 02740
9pm