Customer Reviews

High Seas

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High Seas is the kind of album that works best as a whole. Every song adds up to a fine album that on the surface may not appear to be a concept album, but in its essence, it is. High Seas is the soundtrack to the movie David Lynch never made; the one about the Puritan town that hides a ghastly secret.

"Bird Feet Feelings" is the best song Trailer Bride has ever recorded.

The band's 4th album is somewhat of a disappointment. Probably half the songs are forgettable, unlike the handful of mediocre cuts on the earlier releases. There are some bright spots though - Swingle's voice sounds better than it ever has; maybe it's the recording, maybe she's trying harder, but she sounds great. On the other hand, the de-emphasizing of her unique "guitar savant" slide-guitar work, that started on "Whine de Lune", has continued - you can barely tell she's playing on many of the songs. Will we ever get to hear the wonderful slide licks of "Wildness" and "Rooftop" again, or will Scott Goolsby's reverb continue to drown her out ?

If you're a Trailer Bride fan, the album is definitely worth having, thanks to a handful of true gems like "Under Your Spell", "Thankful Dirt", and "Bird Feet Fellings"; I would rate these three, especially the last, as among the finest she's ever done. If you're not a fan, don't start with this one.

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On the latest Trailer Bride release, Melissa Swingle leads her band on a midnight ride across a moonlit plain. Swingle is a talented multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who can spin a fine yarn ("Jesco"), break open a heart ("Bird Feet Feelings"), and paint an evocative picture ("Wilderness").

Her appealing melodies are delivered in a unique country style, often with a cartoonish lilt to her voice - like she's shrugging off both the pain and humor in her lyrics. And it's perfectly hitched to some fine musicianship, well-produced but keeping some raw edges. Moody without being dirgy, High Seas makes you want to keep riding 'til the sun comes up.

(A version of this review was published in Venus Zine. These words are owned by their author and posted here legally.)