Peculiar, Missouri
Free Dirt, 2022
8/10
A poet and folk artist who takes much influence from Utah Phillips, Willi Carlisle has a way with words, and on this sophomore album he sounds right at home in the Ozarks, his current residence, with his punk, blues, folk and country formula.
“Your Heart’s A Big Tent” opens the listen with Carlisle’s flowing banjo and expressive singing alongside Grant D’Aubin’s skilled guitar and bass in the raw, mountain-esque song craft, and “Life On The Fence” follows with a breezy quality that welcomes Chris Stafford’s aching pedal steel and Joel Savoy’s well timed fiddle in the very genuine climate.
Halfway through, “I Won’t Be Afraid” offers an intimate display of poetic singing amid the bare delivery, while “Buffalo Bill” sees Carlisle illuminating ee cummings’ words with charming vocal acrobatics and Nicholas Pence’s rhythm bones that are present and appreciated.
"The Grand Design” arrives near the end and places Savoy’s autoharp, accordion, fiddle and guitar next to Carlisle’s pretty singing and spirited banjo in the album’s best selection, and “Rainbow Mid Life’s Willows” exits the listen with a dreamy appeal that benefits from Savoy’s organ and Carlisle’s fiddle and very stirring voice.
A product of the rural midwest, these 12 songs stem from Carlisle’s travels around the US, and his parallels to Woody Guthrie and his protest songs are quite insightful, forthright and memorable.
Travels well with: The Local Honeys- The Local Honeys; Riddy Arman- Riddy Arman