Album name: ‘God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise’

Artist: Ray LaMontagne and The Pariah Dogs

Genre: Folk/Rock

Sounds like: Ray LaMontagne singing lead for The Eagles

Soundwaves: 3.5/5

Release Date: August 17, 2010

 

Ray LaMontagne’s newest album, ‘God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise,’ delivers more of his soulful music, this time in a sweeter and more cohesive package. Taking his first crack at a self-produced album, the folk singer-songwriter enlists the help of backing band, The Pariah Dogs, to stretch out his sound. What results is a cleaner tone and musical balance as LaMontagne continues to weigh in on themes of heartbreak and loneliness.

 

This is the fourth studio effort of Ray LaMontagne’s career. The stakes have changed a bit since his 2008 album, ‘Gossip in the Grain,’ charted extremely well and garnered significant commercial success. LaMontagne went private after that, choosing to record an album in his own home studio with the help of a select few people. This is the first album without longtime producer Ethan Johns, a steady hand in helping shape LaMontagne’s previous albums.

 

Fortunately, this has shown not to be a problem for LaMontagne. He handles the production extremely well, evidenced by the opening track ‘Repo Man.’ The Pariah Dogs — composed of bassist Jennifer Condos, guitarists Eric Heywood and Greg Leisz, and drummer Jay Bellerose — make their presence felt immediately, as the introduction of ‘Repo Man’ takes a whole minute and a half to build up some tension before LaMontagne even begins to sing. The band executes flawlessly: The percussion and guitars work off one another with ease and give LaMontagne room to growl out his lyrics.  

 

‘New York City’s Killing Me’ changes the pace as a lonely country-rock ballad that finds LaMontagne seeking greener pastures. Some nice guitar work and drumming make for one of the stronger musical efforts on the album. The title track ‘God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise’ is a spacey, Radiohead-esque ballad with dramatic drumming and guitar notes that drift in and out of airwaves. ‘Beg Steal Or Borrow’ features a folksy shuffle beat that is sure to induce foot tapping, and the various melodies add texture to the song.

 

Despite the new dimensions The Pariah Dogs add musically, LaMontagne still sticks to his songwriting strengths. ‘Are We Really Through’ and ‘This Love is Over’ are an appropriate pair of songs about love and heartbreak. The former is an endearing blues ditty reminiscent of John Mayer’s ‘I’m Gonna Find Another You,’ the latter reminding of a funky Toni Braxton ballad.

 

‘Old Before Your Time’ raises the mood and reintroduces the shuffle beat, as Ray reflects on his upbringing. LaMontagne is smart to stick to his usual themes of nostalgia, loneliness and heartbreak, which tend to bring out the best in him.

But the album does drag for two tracks: ‘For the Summer’ and ‘Like Rock & Roll Radio’ aren’t as endearing or as rich as some earlier songs on the album, despite some great musical execution.

 

‘The Devil’s In the Jukebox’ brings back some energy, closing the album with a country-rock swinger that captures the overall tone of the record quite well. The harmonica shines, the slide guitar gets a solo and the drums shuffle along. All of the new elements in Ray LaMontagne’s musical repertoire make an appearance, and it sounds great. It’s a fitting end to an album that saw this singer-songwriter expand his sound and still retain his signature style.

 

For the first time in his career, Ray LaMontagne has created music that positions his voice as a complementary piece of a band. While he and his guitar have always been in the spotlight, LaMontagne now backs off and allows a band to create the mood. His vocals drift in and out of songs as the tasty guitar licks, crisp drumming and perfectly droning bass just make great music. The musical harmony is quite impressive, and ‘God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise’ is a fine example of how the ‘less-is-more’ approach can have an upside.

ajhaeder@syr.edu

 

Published on September 6, 2010 at 12:00 pm