H.C. McEntire

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Eno Axis

Merge, 2020

8/10

Listen to Eno Axis

Also a member of Mount Moriah and recently a back up singer in Angel Olsen’s band, H.C. McEntire returns with her sophomore album, where her unique brand of Americana comes with help from Luke Norton, Casey Toll, Daniel Faust, Nathan Bowles, Allyn Love, Mario Arnez and Justin Morris.

“Hands For The Harvest” starts the album with warm vocals from McEntire as calm keys set the cautious, pretty Americana mood, and “Footman’s Coat” continues this approach with a fuller display of lush beauty and breezy melodies alongside eloquent storytelling.

Closer to the middle, “River’s Jaw” brings some soulful rhythm to the darker atmosphere with Norton’s strong piano prowess, while “One Eye Open” is a dreamy display of timelessness that we will never tire of. “True Meridian”, a particularly noteworthy tune, then moves with gorgeous tension not unlike a folk tune from a past century, but that still sounds relevant today.

At the end, “Time, On Fire” is a vocally strong and musically precise execution of reflective alt-country that’s poetic with strategic twang, and “Houses Of The Holy”, a Led Zeppelin tune, finishes off the listen amid country and gospel nods that are nearly cathartic in their sublime vision.

McEntire has had a very atypical career that’s spanned punk and country sounds, and this effort was birthed by an entirely different process than her first solo album, where she was off the road and residing in her 100 year old farm house, gathering wood and ideas for what would become this very stirring, gritty and universally engaging adventure.

Travels well with: Ruby Boots- Don’t Talk About It; Steve Earle & The Dukes- Ghosts Of West Virginia