release date: Mar. 18, 2016
format: digital (17 x File, ALAC) (Deluxe Edition)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: Grant-Lee Phillips
label: Yep Roc Records - nationality: USA
Track highlights: 1. "Tennessee Rain" (officiel video) - 2. "Smoke and Sparks" - 5. "Holy Irons" (live on KEXP) - 6. "Yellow Weeds" - 8. "Rolling Pin" (live solo) - 9. "Taking on Weight in Hot Springs" - 11. "No Mercy in July" - 13. "Find My Way" (4 / 5) - *14 "Tennessee Rain (Acoustic Demo)" - *17. "Find My Way (Acoustic Demo)" - - [ Full live performance on KEXP ]
*Bonus tracks on Deluxe Edition
8th studio album by Grant-Lee Phillips following a little more than 3½ years after Walking in the Green Corn (Aug. 2012) is another collection of alt. country and singer / songwriter songs in predominantly acoustic arrangements.
Stylewise, Phillips stays on the same dusty roads, perhaps with a bit more country folk than usual. A few songs ("Tennessee Rain" and "Rolling Pin") are more folk rock-crafted but the overall impression is an album in the quiet end of the scale, and on these thirteen songs, he's mostly only supported by acoustic guitar, bass, a few piano notes, an occassional fiddle, and percussion. The Deluxe Edition adds another four demo takes to the tracklist. Phillips has been there before, but he still knows how to write and narrate his soothing and lamenting songs. After attempts with other styles and finding the right arrangements, he seems to have found his own blend - sometimes turning up the Americana, the alt. country, the folk rock knobs, this one is like a perfect sequel to Virginia Creeper and Walking in the Green Corn.
The Narrows may not be his best but less will do and it's definitely a solid release.
