By DJ Monk
According to her biog, Ohio songstress Angela Perley has been “writing tragic love songs rooted in folk, cosmic country and indie rock for over a decade now”. Most of that time has been with her band, The Howlin’ Moons, but she has now ventured out on her own with this, her debut solo album.
Perley’s sound is very much rooted in the American roots vibe of the likes of Dylan and Springsteen, the songs driven by the characters whose stories they tell. While largely following a country vibe, such as on the likes of ‘He Rides High’, the pedal-fuelled ‘Snake Charmer’ and the morose ‘Dangerous Love’, Perley is more than capable of rocking out hard enough to attract UR’s attention, prime examples of this being ‘Let Go’, ‘Back In Town’ and the thumping ‘Friends’, the latter of which would easily sit alongside anything produced by the likes of the Robinson brothers or even Dan Baird.
Lyrically, Perley is an incisive and intelligent writer, telling tales which capture the imagination of the listener, making you want to explore them more and return to them like that well-thumbed copy of Kerouac you have lying on the bedside table. She inhabits a songwriter territory somewhere between Patti Smith and Suzanne Vega, while her voice possesses a fragile tranquillity that belies the often dark issues about which she is singing.
Overall, ‘4:30’ is a highly intelligent album, filled with subtle nuances brought to life by characterful and erudite musicianship. It is an album that will appeal to country fans as much as to broader-minded rockers, and is extremely worthy of attention by anyone with an ear for a beautifully crafted tune.
‘4:30’ is released on Friday (30 August). You can get your copy HERE.
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