Modern Appalachia – a delight
The Lonetones are a traditional looking combo with acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin and upright bass and a vocalist with a crystal clear high lonesome sound but that’s only the sheep’s clothing as there is a wolf lurking behind the façade. A wolf of fuzzed guitar, sonic effects, barbed lyricism and social commentary.
The album opens with a beautiful mandolin driven paean where singer Steph Gunhoe rails against her home ‘Here in the South’ – I "ain’t gonna shut my mouth". This is soon followed by the title track ‘Canaries’ which rides in on a wave of effects that perfectly frame the wooden sounds that follow with Gunhoe’s vocals , dare I say.. ‘perched’.. on top. The bridge with its distorted guitar had thoughts of Wilco flying round the room.
The heart of this album belongs to the simplicity and purity of the ancient instruments as they drive each clearly defined song, indeed some of the songs could feel too slight when stripped of the artifice of production effects – ‘Mohawk’ is a good example of this. This is nit picking as there is much to love here. ‘Amen’ with its melancholy refrain, the innocence of the vocal in ‘Trickle Down’ with hints of Clare Grogan and the almost African rhythms of ‘Smart Country People’
When listening to "Canaries," the new album by local roots-music band The LoneTones, do not attempt to adjust your CD player.
You may think you're experiencing technical difficulty -- especially as the album's second song, the title track, begins. There's a gentle wave of white noise that fades into the music, something that on an album by any other band would hardly be noticed.
But this is The LoneTones. Led by the husband-wife team of Sean McCollough and Steph Gunnoe, it's a group with deep roots in the local folk scene. McCollough and Gunnoe are activists for a number of causes as much as they are musicians, green advocates who campaign against mountain-top removal and can be counted on to get behind any number of causes that protect the landscape from irresponsible development.
Which makes it even more surprising to hear on "Canaries" something so ... mechanical, for lack of a better word.
"I think there's something really pleasing about dissonance," Gunnoe told The Daily Times this week. "I think we're really melodically driven musicians, but it's so pleasing to somehow wed something really melodic with a more complex dissonance or background. After a while, you begin to kind of lose interest in your earlier work, and on 'Canaries,' I truly like that old keyboard we found with the crazy noises it can make. We're pretty happy with this record, and it may be a prototype for a new style."
That dissonance may seem out-of-place on an initial listen to "Canaries," but repeated plays find McCollough and Gunnoe at a creative peak. The sound effects are understated -- sly and soft, contributing to a song's mood or melody in almost indefinable ways. The layers are arranged in gorgeous stacks, like the shimmering icing of a wedding cake -- intricate, detailed and personable. Gunnoe's girlish voice is another instrument in the mix, and as it swirls and bobs on a sea of lush instrumentation, there's a dreamlike quality to "Canaries" that's fascinating and endearing.
I have no idea what to call the Lonetones. They're acoustic musicians who don't always play acoustic. They're folk musicians with a love of modern psychedelia. Whatever they are, they're great. "Canaries," the group's third album, stretches the Lonetones' borders a little more. Married couple Steph Gunnoe and Sean McCullough anchor the group with their consistently fine songs and vocals. Stand-out numbers include Gunnoe's beautiful and delicate "Gone Again" and McCullough's "Blue Vinyl" - a song that is so lyrically minimalist that it has no right to be so lovable. Bassist Maria Williams, drummer Steve Corrigan and accordionist/pianist Lissa McLeod help flesh good songs out into something purely beautiful.
LONETONES SHINE ON NEW CD
I am grateful for whatever divine force brought Steph Gunnoe and Sean McCollough together. In addition to their marriage and family, their union has also spawned incredibly beautiful original Americana music....
The Lonetones’ sophomore effort will not disappoint. There is plenty of what we’ve come to know, love and expect from the band, but their contemplative mood on “Nature Hatin’ Blues” demonstrates thoughtful growth in their new work. Diehard fans and new comers will not be disappointed.
What a charming little album!
The LoneTones' Nature Hatin' Blues sounds modest. But despite the album's title, most of the songs, 8 written by Steph Gunnoe and 5 by Sean McCollough, comment on the imperiled state of nature. Their relaxed pace gives the group's sound an ease, a placidity. Their melodies ring. The Knoxville, TN group is a gentle, peaceful delight.
REVIEW OF NATURE HATIN' BLUES
The Lonetones occupy that most treacherous area of folk music - the dreaded land of the sensitive singer-songwriter. However, prejudices need to be swept aside for The Lonetones. The band's music is absolutely charming. The vocal songwriting core of the quartet is made up of married couple Steph Gunnoe and Sean McCullough. Although the couple write songs separately, they know just the right touch to add to the other's numbers. McCullough's guitar on "The Soil We Grew Up In" and his banjo on "Lonely Skin" are perfect complements to two of Gunnoe's best numbers, and Gunnoe's harmonies on McCullough's "Heart Shaped Box" flesh out one of McCullough's prettiest songs. And bassist Maria Williams and percussionist Phil Pollard add subtle accent to the songs' words and melodies rather than dominate them.
Gunnoe's voice has the sweetness of Nanci Griffith, without the preciousness. It's Appalachian and honest and never overused. Likewise, her melodies and lyrics are smart, catchy and distinctive. McCullough's song contributions tend to be a little more overtly folkie. However, they provide a good contrast to Gunnoe's works. His bittersweet portrait of living in Knoxville, "Shine On" (with uncharacteristic electric guitar), is instantly lovable.
Give The Lonetones a chance and you'll find yourself humming their songs despite yourself.
PERFORMING SONGWRITER DIY TOP-12 PICK
Simple country melodies and beautifully executed three-part harmonies weave the songs on Useful together like a necklace of wildflowers.
RECORD REVIEW OF USEFUL
Longtime Knoxvillian Sean McCullough and relative area newcomer Steph Gunnoe combine talents in the act the Lonetones with excellent results. The harmonies, both instrumental and vocal, are sweet, and the songs are charming. The two revive the innocence of the singer-songwriters of the early 1960s without becoming precious. McCullough has been in many band configurations, but, with Gunnoe, he may have found his perfect partner.