The Gulf Between Us
Azalea City, 2021
9/10
A Baltimore singer-songwriter who knows his way around an Americana tune, Craig Cummings is armed with a healthy set of pipes that tell stories about love and loss, and he’s got Gantt Kushner, Andy Hamburger, Brian Simms, Tiffany Shanta and Wall Matthews along with him on this 3rd album.
Cummings puts the title track in the lead off position, where his smooth, inviting vocals accompany the melodic Americana that benefits much from Shanta’s violin and Hamburger’s proficient drumming, and “The Southern Wall” follows with a calmer pace of cultured folk songwriting that’s as skilled as it is timeless.
In the middle, “Momma And Me” is a vocally strong album highlight that recruits Simms’ well timed accordion, while “Like Thieves” is a percussively bright and djembe friendly move into precise layers of world music influences. “Sleeping Alone”, a particularly glowing track, then makes great use of Kushner’s electric guitar as vivid storytelling aligns with graceful song craft that points towards Cummings’ rock’n’roll roots.
“Living Without You” and “Safe” exit the listen, where the former comes with some pop nods amid the rural song craft, and the latter is a cozy acoustic strummer that displays meticulous dynamics between the band a whole lot of talent.
How Cummings isn’t a more visible name in the Americana scene is beyond me; he’s got the chops, the backing band, and songs with as much mass appeal as Jason Isbell but with enough grit for the New West roster, too.
Travels well with: The Jayhawks- XOXO; Steve Earle & The Dukes- Ghosts Of West Virginia