BLACK PRAIRIE
''A TEAR IN THE EYE IS A WOUND IN THE HEART''
SEPTEMBER 18 2012
68:49
1. Ms. Sindell/0:24
2. Rock of Ages/4:04
3. For the Love of John Hartford/2:56
4. Nowhere, Massachusetts/3:07
5. More Jam for Ras/0:30
6. How Do You Ruin Me?/3:19
7. Dirty River Stomp/3:26
8. Evil Leaves/2:55
9. What You Gave/3:37
10. Jump Up Jon/1:25
11. Winter Wind/2:49
12. Little Song Bird/4:10
13. Taraf/4:53
14. Richard Manuel/3:49
15. 34 Wishes: The Legend Of/7:51
16. Lay Me Down in Tennessee (Hidden Track)/19:36
All Tracks By Jenny Conlee-Drizos, Chris Funk, Jon Neufeld, Black Prairie, Nate Query, Annalisa Tornfelt
Hanz Araki /Whistle
Paul Beck /Cymbalom
Jenny Conlee-Drizos /Accordion, Clapping, Piano, Pump Organ, Vocals (Background)
Chris Funk Autoharp, Banjo, Clapping, Dobro, Marxophone, Weissenborn
John Moen /Drums, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
Jon Neufeld /Autoharp, Clapping, Drums (Bass), Gong, Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Nate Query /Bass, Cello, Clapping
Annalisa Tornfelt /Clapping, Nyckelharpa, Violin, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
REVIEW
by Steve Leggett
Yeah, Black Prairie were founded by three members of the Decemberists, Chris Funk, Nate Query, and Jenny Conlee, as a back-porch string band side project, but the Decemberists they aren't, and this fine second album shows the growth, poise, and vision of a completely separate band. A lot of this is due to the beautifully nuanced vocals of Annalisa Tornfelt, whose hushed, unhurried, and wonderfully balanced singing makes songs here like "Rock of Ages" and "Nowhere, Massachusetts" sound ageless, comforting, and wise. Most of the material on Black Prairie's impressive debut album, 2010's Feast of the Hunter's Moon, were instrumentals that featured the band's unique brand of maverick East European Gypsy Appalachia, but the addition of Tornfelt as a singer moves things into a new place, and it's a good place, and it's the sound of a band that is fully realizing its vision. Everything here is an original composition, with vocal pieces offset by odd and cinematic instrumental interludes that set and convey a tone and feel that meshes perfectly with the comfortable, deep warm quilt glow of the whole album. It's a reverent album, too, with song homages to John Hartford (the instrumental "For the Love of John Hartford," a clogger's delight) and the Band's Richard Manuel ("Richard Manuel"), and Elvis Presley is name-checked in the gorgeous "Lay Me Down in Tennessee." There isn't a note out of place anywhere, even though the band is adventurous and skews off in any direction imaginable within the arrangements of the songs. This is a wonderful album, full of great players playing like the best back-porch string ensemble one is likely to hear, and with Tornfelt's vocals giving things a consistent emotional integrity, it adds up to one of the best and most unique Americana albums of the year.
BIOGRAPHY
By Steve Leggett
Portland's Black Prairie began in 2007 when Decemberists guitarist Chris Funk, having discovered the joys of the Dobro guitar, and Decemberists bassist Nate Query decided to start a mostly instrumental and acoustic string band as a side project. They enlisted another Decemberists member, Jenny Conlee, on accordion, and added two other veteran Portland musicians from popular local bands, guitarist and songwriter Jon Neufield, who played in Dolorean and Jackstraw, and singer and violinist Annalisa Tornfelt, who played in the Woolwines and Bearfoot. The resulting band blended together an impressive array of styles and textures, from tilted bluegrass, klezmer, and runaway Gypsy music to folk, blues, and a bit of jazz, resulting in a unique and fresh take on a kind of free-spirited alternative Americana. Signing to Sugar Hill Records, the band released an impressive debut, Feast of the Hunters' Moon, in 2010, following it up with A Tear in the Eye Is a Wound in the Heart in 2012.
''A TEAR IN THE EYE IS A WOUND IN THE HEART''
SEPTEMBER 18 2012
68:49
1. Ms. Sindell/0:24
2. Rock of Ages/4:04
3. For the Love of John Hartford/2:56
4. Nowhere, Massachusetts/3:07
5. More Jam for Ras/0:30
6. How Do You Ruin Me?/3:19
7. Dirty River Stomp/3:26
8. Evil Leaves/2:55
9. What You Gave/3:37
10. Jump Up Jon/1:25
11. Winter Wind/2:49
12. Little Song Bird/4:10
13. Taraf/4:53
14. Richard Manuel/3:49
15. 34 Wishes: The Legend Of/7:51
16. Lay Me Down in Tennessee (Hidden Track)/19:36
All Tracks By Jenny Conlee-Drizos, Chris Funk, Jon Neufeld, Black Prairie, Nate Query, Annalisa Tornfelt
Hanz Araki /Whistle
Paul Beck /Cymbalom
Jenny Conlee-Drizos /Accordion, Clapping, Piano, Pump Organ, Vocals (Background)
Chris Funk Autoharp, Banjo, Clapping, Dobro, Marxophone, Weissenborn
John Moen /Drums, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
Jon Neufeld /Autoharp, Clapping, Drums (Bass), Gong, Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Nate Query /Bass, Cello, Clapping
Annalisa Tornfelt /Clapping, Nyckelharpa, Violin, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
REVIEW
by Steve Leggett
Yeah, Black Prairie were founded by three members of the Decemberists, Chris Funk, Nate Query, and Jenny Conlee, as a back-porch string band side project, but the Decemberists they aren't, and this fine second album shows the growth, poise, and vision of a completely separate band. A lot of this is due to the beautifully nuanced vocals of Annalisa Tornfelt, whose hushed, unhurried, and wonderfully balanced singing makes songs here like "Rock of Ages" and "Nowhere, Massachusetts" sound ageless, comforting, and wise. Most of the material on Black Prairie's impressive debut album, 2010's Feast of the Hunter's Moon, were instrumentals that featured the band's unique brand of maverick East European Gypsy Appalachia, but the addition of Tornfelt as a singer moves things into a new place, and it's a good place, and it's the sound of a band that is fully realizing its vision. Everything here is an original composition, with vocal pieces offset by odd and cinematic instrumental interludes that set and convey a tone and feel that meshes perfectly with the comfortable, deep warm quilt glow of the whole album. It's a reverent album, too, with song homages to John Hartford (the instrumental "For the Love of John Hartford," a clogger's delight) and the Band's Richard Manuel ("Richard Manuel"), and Elvis Presley is name-checked in the gorgeous "Lay Me Down in Tennessee." There isn't a note out of place anywhere, even though the band is adventurous and skews off in any direction imaginable within the arrangements of the songs. This is a wonderful album, full of great players playing like the best back-porch string ensemble one is likely to hear, and with Tornfelt's vocals giving things a consistent emotional integrity, it adds up to one of the best and most unique Americana albums of the year.
BIOGRAPHY
By Steve Leggett
Portland's Black Prairie began in 2007 when Decemberists guitarist Chris Funk, having discovered the joys of the Dobro guitar, and Decemberists bassist Nate Query decided to start a mostly instrumental and acoustic string band as a side project. They enlisted another Decemberists member, Jenny Conlee, on accordion, and added two other veteran Portland musicians from popular local bands, guitarist and songwriter Jon Neufield, who played in Dolorean and Jackstraw, and singer and violinist Annalisa Tornfelt, who played in the Woolwines and Bearfoot. The resulting band blended together an impressive array of styles and textures, from tilted bluegrass, klezmer, and runaway Gypsy music to folk, blues, and a bit of jazz, resulting in a unique and fresh take on a kind of free-spirited alternative Americana. Signing to Sugar Hill Records, the band released an impressive debut, Feast of the Hunters' Moon, in 2010, following it up with A Tear in the Eye Is a Wound in the Heart in 2012.
