S.G. Goodman Planting by the Signs
S.G. Goodman’s 2022 album, Teeth Marks, was a revelation for a lot of us. The Kentucky singer-songwriter’s second album was chock-full of punchy, indie-inflected songs centered around a stunning pair of heartbreakers about addiction – the second of which, the a capella “You Were Someone I Loved,” recalls both ancient spirituals and Sinead O’Connor’s “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got.” Pair that with her unique live shows – a mix of jangly guitar rock and songs of soul-crushing loss interrupted only by Goodman’s Sunday Blue Law-dry storytelling asides. Put it all together, and it’s no wonder Goodman won the Americana Music Association’s 2023 Emerging Artist award. So, more of the same, right? Not quite. For her third studio record, Planting by the Signs, we find Goodman engaging in a bit of a paradox – trading in some of her trademark brevity for longer songs while also embracing a back-to-basics approach to life.
After enduring personal stress and strife between the releases of these two most recent records – an unrelenting tour schedule, a falling-out with her creative partner, and the loss of both her dog, Howard, and her mentor and close friend, Mike Harmon – Goodman decided to dive into a project she and Harmon has long discussed. The phrase “planting by the signs” indicates, quite simply, scheduling one’s life events, from mundane to survival-dependent, around the phases of the moon (certainly an antidote to the quarterly profit-based nature of the music industry). Losing one close friend encouraged Goodman to make good with that partner – producer/guitarist Matthew Rowan – and tell the stories she wanted to tell. The album’s first single, “Fire Sign,” begins as a drum-and-bass number that reflects Goodman’s road weariness – “Who’s been living like the sun don’t shine/On the same dog’s ass everyday “ – while also acknowledging what she was put on this Earth to do – “I was born a seeker…An old story keeper.” That storytelling ability comes through most clearly in “Snapping Turtle,” a seemingly languid Southern reminiscence until Goodman turns the tables on a group of local a-holes torturing that turtle – “So I asked if I could take a lick/When I raised my hand I brought down the wrath of God himself/Beat those kids ‘til they were crying out for help.” Goodman links that small-town cruelty to a young mother destined to never see a brighter day – “A life beat down like that snapping turtle day.” Goodman sees the good and the pain in both of these creatures, even if God himself won’t claim them – “God could have thought up a better way/To teach me just how small I am.”
The losses that Goodman has experienced make frequent appearances. The trance-like “Michael Told Me” recalls not just the death of her friend, but also the beginning of the reunification with Rowan – “Though you felt the cut and took the blow/He swore you’d see the loving part.” And “Heaven Song” is a near-nine minute piece that includes the loss of Howard – “When I first cut out, all I had was my dog/But I was told he wouldn’t be here for long” – but turns out to be a “Wizard of Oz”-type of road trip where Goodman meets Love, Faith and Jesus, questions her own musical direction (not-quite-identical twins “Real” vs. “Authenticity”), and asks whether Heaven is a destination worth aiming for: “Maybe if I see it/Then I’ll want it.” The song concludes with a gorgeous show-stopper of a blow-out that has Goodman not so much succeeding in the Pursuit of Life’s Big Answers (because, if she did, then why would anyone write any more songs?), but satisfied in continuing to tell the stories she encounters along the way. Most interestingly, her own.
Song I Can’t Wait to Hear Live: “Nature’s Child” – written by Asheville-based Tyler Ladd and featuring vocals from Will Oldham (Bonnie “Prince” Billy), this one is driven by gorgeous guitar work from Rich Ruth and Zak Riles. It works as both a stunning live duet or a hypnotic mountain-drive anthem.
Planting by the Signs was produced by S.G. Goodman, Drew Vandenberg and Matthew Rowan, mixed by Vandenberg, engineered by Vandenberg and Zak Riles and mastered by Sarah Register. Songs written by Goodman, except “Satellite” (music co-written with Roman) and “Nature’s Child” (written by Tyler Ladd). Musicians on the album include Goodman (vocals, guitar, keys), Rowan (guitar, keys, bass, vocals), Matt Pence (drums, percussion), Craig Burletic (bass), Ben Tanner (keys), Eddy Dunlap (pedal steel), Rich Ruth (guitar), Bonnie “Prince” Billy (vocals), Zak Riles (baritone guitar), and Clyde Charles, Mary Overbey and Myrtle Turner (additional voices).
Go here to order Planting by the Signs (out June 20): https://stores.portmerch.com/sggoodman/
Check out tour dates here: https://www.sggoodman.net/tour
Enjoy our previous coverage here: REVIEW: S. G. Goodman “Teeth Marks”
