Posts By 75orLess
Allysen Callery ‘Mumblin’ Sue’ review at With Music In My Mind
You can read the article here.
Cela fait des mois (non deux années en réalité mais la honte aidant je n’ose pas l’écrire autrement que derrière des parenthèses) que j’aurais du vous parler de cette artiste exceptionnelle qu’est Allysen Callery. Je l’ai découverte par l’entremise de Marissa Nadler, elle avait posté une fois sur Facebook qu’Allysen était l’une de ses artistes préférées. J’ai su instantanément après l’avoir écoutée les raisons de cette si belle déclaration : la musique d’Allysen Callery est à tomber à la renverse. Les mots sont trop pauvres, limités pour décrire les papillons dans le ventre, les frissons qui parcourent l’échine dorsale, les larmes qui éclosent au coin de l’œil à l’écoute de plusieurs de ses morceaux. Elle est une enfant du plus petit état des Etats-Unis : le Rhode Island (dont la population équivaut à celle de la Belgique un million et une chic comme on dirait dans mon plat pays) ? Comment imaginer qu’une des meilleures artistes folk de son temps provienne d’un endroit si incongru ? Pourtant telle est la vérité et telle est sa fierté également.
Bref, cette autodidacte est une bénédiction pour la musique à plusieurs titres : sa sublime et incomparable voix qui semble dépourvue d’âge, voire même si on ose aller plus loin de sexe, ensuite son chant est de ceux qui parlent directement à l’âme, j’avais déjà évoqué ce cas de figure avec des tous grands artistes comme Terry Callier, Paula Frazer, etc… Il s’agît d’un don inné, qui ne s’apprend pas, ne se travaille pas, c’est un chant instinctif qui broie le cœur et retourne les tripes. Dans un climax d’une douceur ronde et maternante, elle nous fait partager ses textes poétiques, philosophiques non dénués d’une pointe d’humour par-ci par-là, ceux-ci étant portés par des compositions souvent dépouillées mais toujours éclatantes de justesse et fascinantes. Allysen Callery a été influencée par le folk anglais des années soixante et septante, sa musique folk alternative étant pétrie par la limpidité et l’authenticité de cette époque, les effets de manche très peu pour elle. Avec pour discographie deux albums autoproduits d’une saisissante beauté : Hopey (2007) et Hobgoblin’s Hat (2010), elle a également sortis deux merveilles d’ep’s Winter Island (2011) et The Summer Place (2012) qui se complètent à la perfection comme un Lp sur le label berlinois de qualité Woodland Recordings (d’ailleurs vous pouvez vous procurez gracieusement un concert live de la belle américaine sur ce lien).
Je ne vais pas écrire (de suite ?) sur ses quatre premières œuvres même si tant d’éloges sont à y adosser (sans modération) mais bien de Mumblin’ Sue, son dernier disque en date, sorti peu avant l’été 2013 aux Etats-Unis sur le label 75OrLess Records et quelques mois plus tard en Europe. Oui, nous sommes toujours un peu en retard, en décalage mais au final cela ne rime à rien, la musique d’Allysen Callery ne se périmera jamais, elle ne sera jamais ridicule tel le dernier Lady Gaga (alors que ce dernier vient à peine de sortir, une vraie misère musicale et sans doute humaine à cette échelle), elle ne souffrira jamais des changements de modes musicales, elle ne se tarira jamais en raison de sa profondeur et de son universalité, elle restera à jamais une musique folk à la fois si simple et indispensable, presqu’autant que l’air respiré. Mumblin’ Sue n’est pas une œuvre qu’on est capable de décortiquer pour mettre en valeur sa plume, c’est une expérience à la limite du shamanisme qu’on est en droit de s’offrir. Allysen Callery vous vend du rêve : sa maîtrise du picking qui ensorcèle, son falsetto à faire rougir les sirènes, son écriture inspirée et intelligente, sa douceur et sa sagesse sont transcendantes.
Chef d’œuvre d’humilité, de beauté, de naturel, pas une once d’artifice ne vient écorner ce disque d’acid folk indispensable qui s’impose vraisemblablement comme le meilleur de 2013. Quand je constate l’émergence des premiers top 50 ou autres déclinaisons de 2013 des webzines de bobos (senteurs de pets) et que seuls un ou deux noms féminins émergent, je me dis que les critiques devraient peut être enfin écouter les (vraies) artistes féminine (non Lady Gaga ou Sky Ferreira n’en font pas partie merci). A bon entendeur, salut. Mumblin’ Sue, disque folk de 2013. Absolute Must Have of course.
Mark Cutler with the Tiny String Band at the Greenwich Hotel
Greenwich Hotel
Main Street
East Greenwich, RI
8pm
Sister Mary’s Final RI Show at Perks & Corks
with Folk Y’all!!!
Perks & Corks
62 High Street
Westerly, RI 02891
9pm
Allysen Callery, Mark Cutler, and Bob Kendall at Channing Memorial Church
with Becky Chace and Ken Shane
Fundraiser for the RI Community Food Bank, food donations will
$15
Channing Memorial Church
135 Pelham St
Newport, RI 02840-3174
Mark Cutler ‘Soul Flame’ video
Allysen Callery at Bohème Artspace
Bohème Artspace
Warren, Rhode Island
7:30pm
Haunt the House at The Malted Barley
with Vudu Sister
The Malted Barley
Westerly RI
9pm
Free
Mark Cutler and Men of Great Courage CD release show at Nick-a-nees
CD Release for Dreamland
Nick-A-Nee’s
75 South Street
Providence, RI
Providence Phoenix Interviews Mark Cutler about new album ‘Dreamland’
You can read the interview here.
Revered veteran musician Mark Cutler has officially escaped the cube farm, and he’s feeling like a billion bucks. He’s been a working musician for nearly 40 years and is an iconic fixture on the Lil Rhody music scene, from his days with the Schemers and the Raindogs to his current outfits, Men of Great Courage and the Tiny String Band. The singer/songwriter/six-string slinger just released another fantastic album, Dreamland (75orLess Records), the follow-up to 2012’s Sweet Pain. Mark will return to his favorite Jewelry District dive, Nick-a-Nee’s, for the official Dreamland release show on Friday.
Cutler’s brand of earnest roots-rock is scaled back this time around. He noted that he wrote “small songs about small things” and recorded in a home studio “the size of a postage stamp.” His exit from the rat race is prevalent on “Doing Things That We Like to Do” and “Too Much Fun.” He revs it up a bit and even plays drums on “Gonna Need My Help,” which he calls a “Yardbirds-type of raveup.” Dusty gems “Tankful of Gas” and “We Don’t Do That Stuff No More” dial up Dylan and Tom Petty, and the title track is a personal fave. Mark revealed a soft spot for the introspective “I’ll Play For You”:
“That one has a special place in my heart because every word is taken from real life — the first verse talks about the legendary Living Room. The second is taken directly from a memory of my second-grade schoolmate Geneva and how my eight-year-old heart yearned back then. The last verse is about one of my best friends, Mark Egan, who passed away a few years ago. We had a short-lived ritual where in the evenings we would walk down Park Avenue in Cranston, play our guitars and sing songs.”
Dreamland is Cutler’s third album for the Warren-based imprint 75orLess Records. Label founder Mark MacDougall says that Cutler helped pave the way for their increasingly eclectic roster.
“Mark Cutler deserves credit for expanding the types of music genres that the label is involved with. The first few years were strictly punk and hard rock albums, but after we released Red I was much more open to working with performers like Haunt the House, Allysen Callery, and others. Even if I stopped the label tomorrow, Mark is one of the best people I have crossed paths with, regardless of our music connection.”
Read our Q&A with Cutler below, and pick up Dreamland right now at the 75orLess Records website.
What was your former day job, and how is it not working for The Man anymore? I was a quality assurance engineer — I tested software. It was a good job for awhile, but leaving was the best thing I’ve done in a long time. I initially took the job in order to be able to provide my son with health insurance and help pay for his education, and now that he is graduating it seemed like a good time to reboot my life. Not working for The Man gives me a wonderful feeling. I’m still working harder than ever, but it’s really nice to not dread Mondays. I’m making less dough but I feel like a billionaire.
Considering the album title, was there a conscious decision going in that this album would have a mellower sound than Sweet Pain? Yes. I wanted to make a small record at home and I wanted to make it sound as spontaneous as possible. I wanted to write small songs about small things. Sometimes small things can be as big as the universe. I was taking cues from Lou Reed and Ray Davies — artists that can make the mundane sound beautiful.
Dreamland is your most stripped-down release. Did you do most of it solo? I did most of the record myself but of course I needed the help of my band, the Men of Great Courage (Jim Berger, bass, Rick Couto, drums, Bob Kirkman, banjo, Richard Reed, keys). Chris Lilley was very generous with her engineering knowledge. And my good friend (and veteran producer) Emerson Torrey did the mastering.
How has your relationship with Mark MacDougall and 75orLess been thus far? My partnership with 75orLess is wonderful. We have a low-key and low-pressure relationship. Mark is easygoing and does a great job getting the word out for me. He’s a music lover and he feels like family.
Tell us about working on the soundtrack for Jim Wolpaw’s Ladd School documentary (facebook.com/laddfilm)? Jim told me about this project, the strange and disturbing story of the Ladd School, and I jumped at the chance. I believe that this is an important story on many levels. People have a ton of misconceptions about folks who are labeled as being developmentally disabled and I hope that this film helps to dispel some of those notions. I’m working with clients from Advocates in Action to create an original soundtrack, including Jimmy Isom, who plays beats on the table and sings. Jimmy was also a client at Ladd School years ago, and has shared some chilling stories with me. I’ve made some friends for life through this project. I feel like getting to work on this soundtrack is a gift from God.
What’s on deck for MC in 2014? Will you continue to play with The Schemers? We’ll probably stick to doing one or two Schemers shows a year. I want to keep that special for the people who remember the band. Hopefully, the Tiny String Band and MOGC will be recording in 2014, and maybe I’ll put out a weird electronica album. I’ve been threatening to do that for a long time. I’m going to be holding food drives throughout the year and teaching guitar. I’ve been working on some short stories and screenplays as well.
Did you ever imagine that almost 40 years later you would still be kicking out the jams? I never thought that I’d be doing anything else. Any day job that I had was solely to support my family and my habit. My decision to leave my job was made easier when I said out loud that I wouldn’t ever be able to afford to retire. So, if I’m going to have to work until the day I die, I may as well be doing something that I love. Wish me luck.
Haunt the House at Perks and Corks
with Adam Sylvestri
Perks and Corks
Westerly, RI
8pm
Free