Keep Me on Your Mind/See You Free

On their 2020 debut album, Bonny Light Horseman -- the collaborative project featuring Anais Mitchell (the singer and songwriter who created the stage musical Hadestown), Eric D. Johnson (leader of the indie folk group the Fruit Bats), and Josh Kaufman (producer and multi-instrumentalist whose resume runs from the Hold Steady to Taylor Swift) -- joined forces to record a set of classic folk songs, which they adapted to their more contemporary approach. While the performances were skillful and imaginative, they also buffed off a good share of the personality of the tunes, and the album came off as unfortunately bland. The trio began writing original material for their second LP, 2022s Rolling Golden Holy, which was a significant improvement, and 2024s Keep Me on Your Mind/See You Free is another step in the right direction. Mitchell, Johnson, and Kaufmans sweet spot is clearly in contemporary folk with a soulful feel and a pop sensibility, and this music plays to that with panache. Mitchell and Johnson are expressive and evocative vocalists who mine the traditions of classic singer/songwriter material for inspiration while adding a veneer of 21st century adult alternative sheen, while Kaufman helped craft arrangements that meld an acoustic sensibility with a tonal palette that finds room for electric keyboards, brass, and woodwinds. These songs fit the bandmembers talents like a glove, both in their melodies and the emotional tenor of the lyrics, and the performances and production (partly recorded live at a pub in Ireland, the rest cut in a Los Angeles studio) are just organic enough to mimic the feel of a real-time performance, even as the final product sounds thoroughly professional and expertly crafted. Keep Me on Your Mind/See You Free is state-of-the-art contemporary pop-folk, and with each LP Bonny Light Horseman deliver stronger work; deciding to put their songwriting chops to work may be the smartest thing theyve done to date. ~ Mark Deming

米ウィスコンシン州で結成されたフォーク・トリオによる3枚目のオリジナル作。アイルランドの田舎にある100年以上の歴史を持つパブで録音されたことにより、アコースティック楽器による演奏とピュアな歌声がいままで以上にナチュラルかつ美しく響いている。アイルランドの巨人、ヴァン・モリソンのアメリカーナ作にも通じる郷愁感溢れる興味深い作品だ。
bounce (C)赤瀧洋二