Allison Brown: Stitches & Incisions

[Benjamin A. Vazquez U.E.]

Allison Brown

Artist: Allison Brown
Album: Stitches and Incisions
Year: 2015
CD#: XXXXX
Canadian? Yes
Best Tracks: #1, #2, #3, #4
Comments Overall: Energetic, upbeat, folksey, danceable, excellent storytelling in the lyrics.

1. Model Railroad Town, 2:22 - Begins slowly, excellent instrumentation, a song about living in a model railroad town, fades out followed by five seconds of silence
2. Invisible Line, 3:53 - A Windsor girl's tribute to Detroit, full of references that only make sense if you're familiar with Windsor-Detroit, "is there any love left in the city with the hollow heart?", mournful, oddly heartwarming for Detriot lovers, fades out followed by five seconds of silence at the end
3. All Our Emergencies, 4:48 - Fast, upbeat, a song about an abandoned hospital in Windsor, sort of the title track - "Stitches & Incisions" is a line from the song, fades out followed by five seconds of silence
4. Your Enemy, 5:13 - Slow and mournful, a supervillain talks about her desire to make peace with the hero, best track on the cd, ""no matter what the premise is, everybody needs a nemesis, somebody who just never quist, trying to take you down, but what if I don't wanna be your enemy?", fades away followed by seven seconds of silence at the end
5. Scavengers, 3:23 - Begins slow, picks up quickly, a song about architectural scavengers in Detroit, upbeat, "pretty girls never fall in love with the junk man", fades out, five seconds of silence at the end
6. Standing by the Bedside of a Neighbour, 3:48 - Begins slow, picks up around ten seconds in, upbeat, danceable, a woman asks a dying relative to send her regards to Jesus, a cover tune written by Thomas A. Dorsey, fades out, five seconds of silence at the end
7. Boxcars, 4:55 - Begins with guitar picking, slow, mournful, a cover tune written by Butch Hancock, fades out followed by six seconds of silence at the end
8. Please Send Me Someone to Love, 4:03 - Slow, sultry, low, blusey, a cover tune written by Percy Mayfield, ends with musical flourish followed by five seconds of silence

Note I: Also posted under Folk.
Note II: Allison Brown was briefly the music director at CHRW. From Windsor, she released this CD in London shortly before moving back to that city.

Website: www.allisonbrown.ca/
Bandcamp: allisonbrown.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/allisoncbrown

[Benjamin A. Vazquez U.E.]

The long awaited follow up to Allison’s 2010 release Viper at the Virgin’s Feet features a fuller sound and a much darker lyrical bent. The album opens with Model Railroad Town, an interesting metaphor with some nice fiddle work from Lonesome Lefty and of course Allison’s true clear voice. The next track, Invisible Line, a tale of cross border romance is a slow starter but totally wins you over with a killer chorus and some nice mandolin from Allison’s touring partner Uncle Dan Henshall. Now, if we were in a world of Top 40 radio, the next track, All Our Emergencies, would be the hit single, a fantastic driving tune with subtly echoed vocals and a killer guitar solo by Scotty Hughes.

Next up is another favourite, Your Enemy, with more old-timey fiddle and another great chorus and lyrics that explore the theme that you might need an enemy to make you try harder. Nice song with an ugly title, Scavengers, is next, an ode to those grocery cart-pushing junkmen that turn up in your neighbourhood on garbage day. I usually prefer Allison’s original tunes the best, but I must admit she pulls out three great covers to finish the album. A rocking gospel tune by Thomas A. Dorsey, Standing By the Bedside of a Neighbour, Butch Hancock’s Boxcars, made famous by Joe Ely, on which Allison plugs into the bluesy side of the song with some classic ragtime instrumentation, and a Cab Calloway Minnie the Moocher vibe.

She pulls out all the stops on the last track, Percy Mayfield’s Please Send Me Someone to Love, which she turns into a torchy blues number where she also reveals a sexy breathy lower part of her vocal register before belting it out big time. After these last three tunes I hope to see a totally blues album from her some day.

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