Ollabelle – Riverside Battle Songs / Duhks – Migrations
What do these groups have in common? The obvious answer would be the method they share for defining their identities, which involves rummaging through the Americana closet and assembling what they find into unusual patterns and juxtapositions.
But one equally significant detail separates one from the other. We’ll get to that in a moment.
These albums — Ollabelle’s second, the third for the Duhks — do make a similar impression. They sound clean and spare, dry but not dusty, the audio equivalent of Shaker decor. The producers understand this aesthetic: Larry Campbell, who also plays an assortment of stringed instruments throughout Riverside Battle Songs, has spent years raising rustic spirits with Bob Dylan, Phil Lesh, and Levon Helm, among many others, while Tim O’Brien, in addition to his history with Hot Rize, has clocked a lot of studio time with Dolly Parton, Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch, and other Nashville nouveau traditionalists.
The consequences of this strategy are two: Subtlety comes across much better than flashiness. And the song sits square in the center of the spotlight, uncluttered by audio distractions. Going again for the visual metaphor, it’s the difference between a Hollywood glamour shot and a Dorothea Lange photo of a Dust Bowl survivor. One masks the face of reality; the other finds beauty in its rough textures.
In this fashion, the music of these groups emits a sometimes painful beauty, glossed on Migrations by Tania Elizabeth’s silky fiddling, and on Riverside Battle Songs by the exquisite harmonies that all five members of Ollabelle create.
Those harmonies on Riverside Battle Songs range from somewhat adventurous dissonances on “(Down By The) Riverside” to the raw, open-throated, primitive gospel projection of “Gone Today”. Their textures are at times ruggedly masculine, as on “Heaven’s Pearls” and “Reach For Love”, on which the influence of The Band cannot be mistaken. But then, on “Last Lullaby”, Amy Helm (Levon’s daughter) and Fiona McBain soften the edges with angelic oohs that tug at another side of expression.
The energy of Ollabelle, then, is collective. (Their songwriting credits may identify the primary writer, but they always also cite the group, as in “Byron Isaacs/Ollabelle.”)
There’s plenty of that in Migrations too, but at the heart of the Duhks the process is almost antithetical, in that everything they do centers on one member: extraordinary singer Jessee Havey.
You hear this right out of the gate on “Ol’ Cook Pot”. There’s a finger-snap/hipster vibe to the groove, reminiscent of very early Manhattan Transfer, but aside from a few moments in which someone else’s voice pops up on the chorus and then disappears just as quickly, the spotlight belongs entirely to Havey. At first her throaty timbre alone attracts attention, but just as important is her phrasing. From her feel for rhythm to her reading of the lyric, particularly in the restraint and respect she brings to Katie Herzig’s “Heaven’s My Home”, it’s clear that Havey is destined to illuminate the wider stage of popular music.
As noted, Tania Elizabeth has her moments too, especially on “The Fox And The Bee” and “Domino Party!”, both instrumental cuts she helped to write.
But to fully appreciate the dynamic of the Duhks, as well as Havey’s singular gifts, compare how each band handles traditional material. Ollabelle’s examination of “Riverside” exemplifies their willingness to chart fresh paths into familiar tunes. On the other hand, “Moses Don’t Get Lost” receives a straightforward treatment on Migrations because, with Havey delivering its message, nothing more is required. The high point of this song, in fact, comes when the band stops and the singer, accelerating the tempo, starts testifying a cappella.
The point is that there’s more than one road back to the well. The one you choose depends on the resources you carry with you.