The Mother Of Trouble
Disismye, 2023
8/10
Listen to The Mother Of Trouble
This is the 14th album from the singer-songwriter Vance Gilbert, and it’s a very diverse listen that welcomes Joey Landreth (guitar) Lori McKenna (background vocalist), drummer Marco Giovino (Tom Jones), bassist Crag Akin (Red Molly), organist Dennis Montgomery III (Head of the Gospel Music Department at Berklee), Wynter Pingel (violin), Joe K. Walsh (mandolin), Joey Dalton (vocals), Amy Malkoff (vocals), Fernando Michelin (piano) and Herb Gardner (trombone).
The title track begins the listen with swift drumming, playfully strummed guitar and Gilbert’s expressive singing in the retro feel of the flowing climate, and “One Or Two Of These Things” follows with a calmer approach of warm fiddle and mandolin in a folk friendly sort of way.
In the middle, the intimate “Hand Back The Keys” recruits a country waltz demeanor, while the gentle “A Room Somewhere” emits a dreamy beauty of ‘80s soft rock nods.
Close to the end, “Honeysuckle Fences” is particularly eloquent, where Gilbert’s stirring voice tells the story of being bullied, and “Walk Slowly With Me” exits with a stunning, bare finish about losing our animal friends that’s as hearfelt as it is timeless.
Gilbert covers folk, jazz, R&B, country rock and Americana, and his distinct and inviting storytelling makes each track worth repeated listens.
Travels well with: Bannister Effect- A Life I Knew; Jared Feinman- Love Is An Obstacle