Everett Wren – Cascades
This collection gets off to a stimulating start with something called “Ungrounded” with its cowboy horse gallops that drive a stinging Everett Wren fiddle & have amazing clarity supporting Wren’s convincing warm tenor vocal. Somewhat like acoustic guitarist Leo Kottke’s occasional vocal explorations (“Don’t You Think” “Standing On the Outside,” & “Power Failure”), only Wren’s voice has more timbre, personality & emotional heft. Quite excellent.
Everett colors his compositions (Western swing, folk balladry, Americana, Broadway, bluegrass, & rural confections) with inventive percussion & instrumental vibrancy as sampled on “Fleety.” The song itself is nothing special but the way Everett performs it brings lots of character into focus with the plucking strings, determined drums & bustling arrangement. Nice stuff.
All tracks on Cascades (Drops Jan 17/Independent/38:46) were produced by Everett Wren (lead & harmony vocals/fiddle/mandolin/acoustic, electric & lap steel guitars/Resophonic slide guitar/percussion) in his Austin, TX home studio. The intro “Starlight” barges in with bright percussion rooted in a more progressive rock landscape. A nicely charged composition that’s levitated by Spanish-oriented horns woven together in an overall imaginative performance. When the fiddle comes it’s like getting caught in a hurricane wind – glorious & invigorating. Everett’s voice is perfectly suited to the female backup lending a haunting touch.
Wren’s fiddle is not as gypsy-oriented as Scarlet Rivera (Bob Dylan) or just vigorous sawing like Patty van Ness (Private Lightning), but his playing seems to possess a more classical feel despite the mainstream magic his arrangements spill from the speakers. His music is sustained by an interesting display of varied genres & with instrumentals like (“Angie & Tim Reed”) good variety.
“Find a Way Home” finds Wren in a fine Cat Stevens/Yusuf voice – deep, with indelible expression & guitar playing also notable of the earlier Cat work. “The Day Before,” has melodic cross playing between fiddle & acoustic guitar – quite sumptuous. “Coffee & Jam,” is distinctive as well & it’s a well-fueled piece with its sweeping fiddle & suave mandolin warm around Wren’s rurally tinted vocal. “Some Kind of Truth” is energetically captivating. The LP starts to wind down with a more Celtic instrumental melody on “Banish Misfortune” that acts almost like an Appalachian interlude. This music is contagious. There’s a certain amount of sophistication that decorates these pieces & yet, Wren doesn’t fill it all to the rim to overflowing. It has stylistic coolness & balance. I like them. I like them a lot.
Highlights – “Ungrounded,” “Fleety,” “Starlight,” “Angie & Tim Reed,” “Find a Way Home,” “The Day Before,” “Coffee & Jam,” “Some Kind of Truth,” “Banish Misfortune” & “Weeping Willow Tree.”
Musicians – Taylor Turner (upright & electric bass/harmonies), Sasha K.A. (drums), Matt E. Bradshaw (trumpet/harmony/percussion/harmonica/penny whistle), Kate Heron & Aaron Dembe (harmonies), Nathan Quiring (keys) & Harmoni Kelley (electric bass).
Photo courtesy of Nicola Gell. CD @ Amazon & https://www.everettwren.com/
Song Premiere: https://americanahighways.org/2025/01/02/song-premiere-everett-wren-starlight/
