The River and The Light and People and Places

There are some singers that take you to another plane and make you forget whatever was on your mind before you got lost in their songs. And there are some artists that can capture through their compositions a sense of place, like a painter rendering the settings they know so well. Martha Scanlan is one of the souls in both categories. Here, the Americana singer returns with a sparse sonic masterpiece, The River and The Light, which explores the complex relationships between people and places, time and space. The record is the fourth full-length from the Montana-based musician and arguably her best effort yet.

Produced by her longtime musical collaborator, Jon Neufeld, and recorded at Type Foundry Studios in Portland, Oregon, these eight well-chosen songs are sure to cure your troubled mind, taking it away to the Appalachians and its valleys that Scanlan knows, and loves, so well. The disc kicks off with a cosmic lullaby, “Brother Was Dying,” sung at just above a whisper and backed by a rhythmic beat that is trance-like and matches the sombre mood of the tune. Guest musicians Dirk Powell and Black Prairie’s Annalisa Tornfelt add haunting fiddles and Cajun accordion that help sustain and create the many moods and layers of subtle sounds on this record.

“West Virginia Rain” is a song with a familiar theme of leaving home at 16 and never looking back, but never truly leaving in one’s mind from that place once called home. One of the most gorgeous tracks is “Only a River/True Eyed Angel.” It begins with a two-minute instrumental rumination and finishes with an ode to nature where Scanlan’s heart will whisper and bring you back to where you came from.    

This disc is best listened to on your favorite set of headphones. Tune out and tune in. Journey to where Scanlan’s mountain music takes you and leave this goofy old world behind for a while. Do that and you are sure to return with a permanent smile.