Song Preservation Society – Every Other Somewhere
This lovely record from three friends (Trevor Bahnson, Ethan Glazer and Daniel Wright) who reunited ten years after going their separate ways after a promising journey gathered in Ojai around a firepit during the panpan to share songs was brought to my attention by Scott Hirsch, who produced it alongside Syd Sidney. It is just such a pristine example of trademark Echo Magic sound – rootsy, groovy, singable, sparkling folk that’s pure of heart. The three players share singing, writing, and plucking duties, and the result is stunning, culminating in one of the best songwriter albums I’ve heard in a long time. Their vocals and acoustic prominence remind me of the Skiffle Players at times, more Pure Prairie at others.
Immediate highlights are the foot-stomping “Mama Let Me Come Home,” with squishy clavinet augmenting this bar-room shuffle, the heartfelt “Washington DC,” and “Caps and Stems,” an (obviously) stoney, bluesy ramble; and the romantic-sounding, ponderous “Like a Golden.” These are songs of freedom, of longing, and reflect the magic that can come about when a band is more than the sum of its parts.
