These are beautiful, understated songs off of a record that is much of the same. Of course something this subtle will be lost in the shuffle at the end of the year. This post originally went up in May of 2008.
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The Old 97′s long awaited record Blame It On The Gravity will suck the oxygen from every other Americana release over the next month or so. Which is a shame because from the songs I’ve heard from Old 97′s bassist Murry Hammond’s new record I Don’t Know Where I’m Going But I’m On My Way deserve to be heard. Murry Hammond is the bassist in Old 97′s but he’s also connected to the new southern gothic folk movement though his marriage to Grey Delisle.
The track “Lost At Sea” has a Paul Simon circa The Graduate feel. While “I Believe, I Believe” is more of an old country gospel song along the lines of something you might hear on Johnny Cash’s Hymns record. The new disc was recorded in analog which makes the slight reverb and uncompressed layering of instruments a wonderful byproduct of this technique. These songs were written during a period of time when Murry lost his parents, got married, had a child and was a leader at the Burbank Christian Church. So thematically the songs are a bit heavy, but musically they’re rather refined and quietly somber.
Rhett Miller will surely have that last laugh with the new Old 97′s record, but Murry may have made the better record. Ain’t that always the way of things.
You can buy it now here through Amazon.
