This record is easy proof that great roots music is produced far from the Mecca of Nashville.
Folk-rock singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile is from Seattle and her fifth album, Bear Creek, was also produced in Washington State.
There’s nothing really notable in this except that Seattle’s mainly known for grunge and Starbucks, not roots music or folk-rock.
Bear Creek is a spellbinder from the first song onward, especially if you find yourself behind the wheel on a tree-lined highway.
Carlile, a singer/performer since childhood, has a voice with presence. It’s felt as well as heard. She works with twins Tim and Phil Hanseroth, who share songwriting, backup vocals and instrumental duties with Carlile in intuitive fashion.
This core unit weaves backwoods fable songs (Raise Hell) that smell of stills and dirt roads, or sleeper classics like That Wasn’t Me. This track is akin to the impact of REM’s Everybody Hurts. It is kind of a song for anyone.
What Did I Ever Come Here For is another song with an ache to it. Carlile’s vocal is raw and naked, the music understated and haunting.
Carlile adds a big pop texture to Rise Again that comes through in the arrangement and layering, but the track retains the uplift and tent-revival soulfulness that courses through Bear Creek. You can believe in the songs.
The first track, Hard Way Home, contains all the off-road inspiration that you’ll hear in each of the 12 songs. The back porch power that Carlile possesses makes stops in every song.
–– Dean Gordon-Smith is guitarist for Vernon band Redfish and is also The Morning Star’s music critic.
