John Hiatt has no equal, at least to my ears, but M. William Helfrich is definitely on the path to becoming one of the next great Americana artists.
The Portland, Oregon based folk-rock songwriter known as mbilly will self-release “Malheu” on June 5, and if the stars align it’ll get him some seemingly overdue national recognition. The 11-songs on the release spill over with a deep-rooted sorrow and reflection he feels after the death of one of his best friends from childhood.
mbilly’s lyrics on such songs as the stand out “Sick for a Spell” are gently underscored by the throbbing of an analog drum machine and what the artist calls “fairly loose” instrumentation which is generally acoustic guitar and sprinkles of keys. There are also some lovely harmonies on various songs including on “All Lives Lived,” a late-night rumination on God and the paths lives take. As corny as it sounds, something about the song brings to mind the famous Edward Hopper painting “Nighthawks” – yes, it’s that dark and mysterious.
Generally, I’m not a huge fan of orchestration on Americana but on these songs they do seem to add a bit of atmosphere without adding too much sentimentality. The aforementioned “All Lives Lived” is one of the album’s best examples.
My personal favorites on this album, though, go the bare-knuckles sounds on “Chimes of a Bell” – with some pretty hot guitar, keys, and percussion, and “Ghosts in a Room,” which starts out with percussion and vocals that hint toward an Americana REM.
When you talk to musicians, many speak of the spirituality of music that allows artists to convey thoughts and feelings that they couldn’t verbally articulate in conversation.
I thought of that when I read mbilly wrote these songs as a way to reflect on life in the wake of his friend’s death, but not as a way to answer those questions.
It’s easy to hear that these songs, released on the day of his friend’s birthday, do in fact answer some universal questions certainly for his listeners.
Now that this darkness has come, we can look forward to personal and professional dawn for mbilly.
Find out more about mbilly on his Facebook page.
Hear mbilly’s song “All Lives Lived” from his upcoming album:
