Helene Cronin - Landmarks
Self-released
****1/2
If you didn’t know any better, you could easily be forgiven for thinking that Helene Cronin’s new album wasn’t the work of a single performer, recorded at a particular moment in time. There are so many musical voices and melodic styles in evidence that LANDMARKS could easily pass for a career retrospective or a compilation featuring several diverse but likeminded artists. And that’s not a bad thing. Helene’s melodic, engrossing mixture of heart-on-the-sleeve country-folk, jangly pop, and roots music dives into life experiences of joy, loss, and love—everything it means to be human, including the need, sometimes, to drive away from it all. Musically and lyrically, she draws on wells as deep as Mary Gauthier, Linda Hargrove, Gillian Welch, Leslie Satcher and Karen Staley. Songs that will fill your heart and spirit, and give you hope. Hallmarked by smart writing, this set is laid back even when it’s driving and charging. Recalling iconic artists like Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt with a sound that draws its influences from classic country traditions with a contemporary edge.
The Texas-based singer-songwriter’s opening salvo Yesterday’s Heavy has her powerful voice carrying shades of Margo Price and Linda Ronstadt with a muscular country-rock arrangement pushing things along. Halfway back To Knoxville follows in that grand tradition of weary road songs like Little Past Little Rock, By the Time I Get To Phoenix and Amarillo by Morning. Opening on a quintessentially bleak scene, she sings: ‘I got Dallas way back in my rearview mirror and one hell of a strong tailwind,’ her soulful vocal set against a backdrop of brooding steel guitar, deepening the feeling of loneliness and regret. Just A Woman is packed with the same power of a soul-wrenching gospel tune. An eerie acoustic opening as she simply tells the horrific stories of three women, the song then builds into an earth-shattering tribute to all women. It gets pretty churchy as it climbs into a triumphant finale featuring the combined chorus of Wendy Moten, Heidi Newfield, Vicki Hampton and Shelly Fairchild. Powerful stuff that makes a massive impact.
The title song’s warm, loose, and comfortable vibe perfectly showcases Helene Cronin as a gem of a singer-songwriter. About the siren call of the old home place, especially for those who left the life of a small town to chase a career in the city, it paints a universal portrait of a heady childhood past that is a fitting throwback if you feel lost in today’s hectic world. Between Me And The Road is the most ‘mainstream’ sounding tune here, but thankfully we’re talking the late 1990s Lee Ann Womack-type of mainstream. A cheerful, up-tempo number about finding peace and fulfilment as a touring musician and seeing new sights along the road, she pits her intense vocal energy against vibrant electric leads and pedal steel. A soft, stirring ray of sound washes over the ears as her meditative and mesmerising You Do gently rises and shines. From the banjo twang of Cross That River, the questioning What Do You Lean On and the softly, yet devastating Bodies Of Water, this is an incredible collection of songs. Credit should also be afforded producer Matt King and the skilled musicians including Kenny Vaughan (electric guitars), Bobby Terry (acoustic guitar, banjo, steel guitar, mandolin), Byron House (electric, upright bass), Jerry Roe (drums) and Todd Locke (piano, pads. Hammond B3).
January 2023