If there is a state that in recent years has become important for country folk singer-songwriter, a sort of legacy of the great Texans of the past as Townes Van Zandt or Guy Clark, here is for sure that state is Kentucky. I’ve already told you about the artists born and raised here who today are the absolute reference for the genre, real poets and unforgettable voices, Chris Stapleton, Tyler Childers and Sturgill Simpson, to this list today have been added independent musicians who without the support of big majors and big media have made their way to the sound of amazing live and word of mouth among fans. The net helps (I’m proud to witness that it allows a crazy echo to the word of mouth that allows him to cross the ocean in a moment), but talent is the spark that ignites that fuse, long and tortuous, which then explodes the fire of a career. Today Branden Martin or Jason Evans are known artists to country music fans, who have released wonderful records and are expanding their base even from this part of the world. Here’s to this list of Kentucky men, add another name that’s meant to stay there: Cole Chaney. This boy in his music clearly took inspiration from his land and the artists who made it famous. It will be the water of the Ohio River, it will be the influence of three states that in this area flow into a border of three (the other two are Ohio and West Virginia), will be the stories of people so linked to work, to the nearby mines, to the hard life, the fact is that Chaney gives us a wonderful debut, this Mercy does not invent anything in his 12 pieces but the quality of the pieces and arrangements makes us immediately think that the boy has so much talent not to become the copy of someone, or the new someone else. The beginning of the album is the single Ill Will Creek and more than a fuse or a fire is already real fire, acoustic guitar and violins, voice intense and hoarse at the right point, rhythm ride in the prairie. I understand very well why she was chosen as a single, entices to discover this boy and his art that already from the second piece takes its cue from the history of his lands with Coalshooter, where the typical melancholy of the genre envelops the chests. The violin and the mandolin, the narrating voice full of intense suffering. The stories around the bonfires, told with passion and feeling, here are the feelings. The sound of guitars is often intertwined with violins and mandolin, a rhythmic just hinted but the voice is the secret in my opinion, the participation with which you sing tragic stories of real life, there are no lights and sequins, only charcoal and desire to get by. Back to Kentucky is an intense dedication, an exciting ballad where the violin is the backbone that helps Chaney’s voice to guide us in this state of poignant beauty. The country folk of the 12 paintings that make up the album has no quality or intensity drops, they are all equally beautiful and the title track with which the artist takes leave is no less, songs that make you think, that relax but with that melancholy aura that makes us look at heaven and nature while our thoughts wander among the difficulties of life and our journey. A record that starts off great a career that we wish him long and full of the satisfactions he deserves, between long tours in those live clubs that can not wait to fill up to listen to his stories and the echo of word of mouth that deserves to cross thousands of miles and get to the ears of fans of quality music.
Good listening,
Trex Willer by http://www.ticinonotizie.it
(you can find original italian article at this link : https://www.ticinonotizie.it/cole-chaney-mercy-2021-la-recensione-del-nostro-trex-roads/ )
