Given that I’ve just been using my reading time to educate and immerse myself in the lore and lay of the sonic landscape of Dylan’s early years, I understand the signals such an album title sends out. Following in the format of the earlier blues and folk players, the words Talking and Blues as bookends for a subject matter suggest authenticity, depth, meaningful lyrics, and in the modern age, perhaps, a retro sound.
While that is all true of the titular opener, “A Hill Worth Climbing,” shows that Singing River’s real trick is their ability to take those early influences and bring them bang up to date, a style they term “steamboat-pop.” Here, alt-country riffs, Americana licks and poised pop accessibility are the order of the day.
And having established these two sonic points, the new and the old, the rootsy and the pop-aware, they ebb and flow between these extremes. “Gideon’s Bible” has the same old but new vibe that The Band delivered back in the day, “She Feels Like A Diamond” takes this same style in a more soulful direction – roots-rock ‘n’ soul – and “Born in The Spirit of ’76” is the sort of song that Tom Petty would have paid good money to get his hands on back in the day.
Perhaps, because the modern musical age has so spectacularly failed to produce anything particularly memorable, and record labels just want more of the same—throwaway pop and cliched rock— it is only natural that bands turn to older sonic seams to mine for influences.
Talkin’ Destination Blues is the sound of that happening, the old taking root in the new, and ensuring that Singing River is a band that every discerning music fan keeps at least one eye on.
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