Avondale Drive
Little Knickers, 2022
8/10
A San Francisco native and current Tennessee resident, Nicki Bluhm pens a very introspective album that was recorded in her home and takes helps from an all star cast including James Pennebaker (pedal steel), Jen Condos (bass) and Lucy Wilson (percussion), to name a few.
“Learn To Love Myself” opens the listen with Bluhm’s expressive and pretty pipes alongside the slight twang of the folk-rock climate, and “Love To Spare” follows with help from AJ Croce on guitar and vocals as well as well timed organ from Al Gamble that helps make for some warm intimacy.
Halfway through, “Juniper Woodsmoke” offers a bare, poetic display of Bluhm’s stirring song craft, while “Friends (How To Do It)” features Oliver Wood’s pipes and guitar amid the crisp drumming from Jay Bellerose in a very soulful delivery.
Approaching the end, “Leaving Me (Is The Loving Thing To Do)” emits sublime balladry with the aching pedal steel setting an emotive mood, and “Wheels Rolling” exits the listen with piano from Kai Welch and Jesse Noah Wilson’s guitars and bass complementing the cozy Americana.
A substantial listen that blends folk, country, blues, funk and roots rock, Bluhm has undergone much self-examination lately as a result of trauma, divorce and estrangement, and it makes for genuine, timeless song craft.
Travels well with: Brennen Leigh- Prairie Love Letter; Amy Speace- Tucson