Freeway
Righteous Babe, 2019
9/10
Pieta Brown returns with an 8th album of her poetic and eloquent folk tunes, and this time she recorded them live in just 3 days with players from Bon Iver and Andrew Bird to help flesh out the glorious affair.
“Ask For More” leads the album with pretty vocals and melodic acoustic strumming from Brown, where subtle jazz influences seep in, and “Morning Fire” follows with a percussively strong and rhythmic setting of detailed, playful musicianship.
Near the middle, “Bring Me” offers a bare and slightly mysterious backdrop alongside reverb friendly guitars, while “The Hard Way”, with Mark Knopfler, delivers a full setting of bluesy, rootsy rockin’ fun anchored by Knopfler’s superb skill.
Deeper cuts bring us the indeed sunny and vocally expressive “Beyond The Sun”, and “Before We Break” trims the pace back with beautiful, bluesy introspection. “Shelter Now” ends the listen with calm keys and a playful setting of breezy melodies and hushed vocals.
Though her name doesn’t carry quite the prestige of, say, Ani DiFranco or Brandi Carlile, a Pieta Brown record carries all the hallmarks of timeless, memorable song craft, where folk, country, blues, and Americana are meshed with splendid results that can parallel the greatness achieved by the aforementioned luminaries.
Travels well with: Sara Watkins-Young In All The Wrong Ways; Patty Griffin- American Kid