Anniversary
Thirty Tigers/Four Quarters, 2024
9/10
The 9th album from Adeem The Artist, the 12 tracks here were captured live to tape over 5 days, and recruits a stunning cast of players for tunes that surround empathy, humor and focused introspection.
“There We Are” leads with Megan Coleman’s dense drumming before the intriguing indie-rock enters, and “Nancy” follows with a crisp rocker that makes great use of Jessye DeSilva’s fluid piano that soars with warmth.
Making our way towards the middle, “One Night Stand” radiates modern country via the cautious melodies, while “Wounded Astronaut” takes nods to John Prine via the acoustic guitar, where Adeem’s poetic singing is met with a heartfelt intimacy.
Deeper into the back half, the festive atmosphere of “Socialite Blues” carries some New Orleans flavor thanks to the lively horns from Owen Fader, Davis Ginn and Michael Daugherty, and “White Mule, Black Man” exits with some unjust history from Knoxville, where 3 verses of storytelling draw us in to the tragic stories.
Adeem is a breath of fresh air in the country scene, and their strong wordplay and eloquent observations continue to make for some of most important modern folk/country that exists today.
Travels well with: Zach Russell- Where The Flowers Meet The Dew; William Matheny- That Grand Old Feeling