Landmarks
Self-Released, 2023
10/10
The superb vocalist Helene Cronin brings her alto pipes to this often swift, driving listen that also doesn’t shy away from balladry in a way that only she can deliver.
“Yesterday’s Heavy” opens the listen with spirited electric guitar and Cronin’s inimitable singing alongside Jerry Roe’s bright drumming and Byron House’s proficient bass lines in the melodic landscape, and “Make The Devil” follows with Bobby Terry’s atmospheric banjo and Cronin’s vivid storytelling making for a darker, precisely textured climate.
Halfway through, the cozy steel guitar of “What Do You Lean On” helps cultivate a powerful, lush album highlight that’s first rate folk-rock with a hint of country, while “Your Cross” finds a very intimate place to reside, where Cronin’s gritty yet pretty formula emits radiant Americana.
Approaching the end, Paul Eckberg’s skilled drumming on “What They Didn’t Build” complements Kenny Vaughan’s dense electric guitar, and “Cross That River” exits with a very playful demeanor that you can dance to and certainly is uplifting.
There’s no question why Cronin is considered one of the best singer-songwriters that exists today, and these layered, robust tunes that take help from effects, harmonies and much diversity further cement that. If you haven’t listened to any of Cronin’s work yet, I wouldn’t delay any further- it is vital music.
Travels well with: Laura Zucker- Lifeline; Angela Easterling- Witness