Carter Faith Cherry Valley
Carter Faith has an absolutely astonishing new 15 song album Cherry Valley produced by Tofer Brown. From the introductory piano ballad “Cherry Valley” through to the last track “Still A Lover,” every number on this album packs a punch. Carter knows how to sing songs with deep intentionality; every nuance is calculated and crafted to fit into the overall album narrative with ease. It’s a feat even well seasoned musicians struggle with.
Throughout each track, she sings with a devastating Nancy Sinatra sound. There’s a fierceness in her voice that’s delivered with a femme fatale sweetness. It’s in the chorus and the harmonies, it’s a dark edge that makes the saccharine sweetness serrated across the syllables. She slays the listener with a deadly attraction in her song. It’s powerful and put together and incredibly impressive on a first full length album.
Nearly every track on this album would be a successful single. Narrowing down which tracks to release must have been a difficult process. After the initial introductory ballad, introducing the listener to the mythical place of Cherry Valley, where everything is wrapped in a mythical mist of nostalgic beauty, Ms. Faith jumps right into a declaration of her ethos, driving force, and what helps get her through the day “Sex, Drugs, and Country Music.” She harnesses the recent excellent lyrical wittiness as seen in the likes of Willow Avalon, Maggie Antone, and Kat Hasty. “Once I tried all three, I found my Trinity” and “get me high because love is stupid, the only things that get me through are sex, drugs and country music.” Her frankness is delivered with a sharp humor and sung in a late 60’s dream bop tone. It’s a perfect sound to encapsulate the current state of affairs and the devices we use to deal with the contemporary.
“Betty” continues the playful lyrical humor where she plays off of “bet he is with Betty.” But it’s more than clever. It’s crafted and smart and stylistically has the sharp back bite of Boots were made for walking. She’s chosen her sonic role models incredibly well and her swagger makes her able to pull off such a feat. Nancy Sinatra made modern. It’s hard not to love it.
The track that solidifies this as more than an excellent album is “Grudge.” There’s a powerful femininity in it and it almost slaps the face of anyone who doubts her ability. She softly but acerbically refrains that “if I was a good Christian woman, like you, I’d probably forgive, but I’m pretty sure that even Jesus thinks you’re a bitch” as the bass cascades down the line. This may be the ultimate come back song. It even references the nuances and subtle way they say “bless your heart” in the south and all of the connotations that can be inferred from it.
Carter Faith has shared a fantastic album here. Her charm and the bite behind the excellently crafted lyrics (Carter worked with many quality co-writers including Tofer Brown, Ashley Monroe, Aaron Raitiere and more) harp back to the powerful feminine of the early 70’s. It’s more than a throwback or a retro sound brought back to life, it incorporates the attitude and strength in song that make this album an instant classic.
Cherry Valley by Carter Faith is available today on all streaming services. It’s also available for direct download from her website: http://www.CarterFaith.com
The album was produced by Tofer Brown, mixed by Bryan Brown, engineered by Buckley Miller and Tofer Brown with assistant engineering by David Paulin, and mastered by Nathan Dantzler with assistance by Harrison Tate and Dolby Atmos/Spatial Audio mixing and mastering by David Emery. Additional editing was courtesy of Andy Selby and Jon Stark. It was recorded at Sound Emporium.
Musicians on the album are Aaron Sterling on drums and percussion, Tony Lucido on bass; Rob McNelley on electric guitar; Todd Lombardo on acoustic guitar, banjo and mandolin; Billy Justineau on Wurlitzer, organ and mellotron; Russ Pahl on pedal steel; Tofer Brown on piano, acoustic guitar, stomps, Mellotron and vocals; Alicia Enstrom, Kristin Weber and Annaliese Kowert on violin; Betsy Lamb on viola; and Emily Rodgers on cello.
For co-writing credits on the songs, see in parenthesis below.
- Cherry Valley (Carter Faith, Ashley Monroe, Andrew Petroff)
- Sex, Drugs, and Country Music (Carter Faith, Lauren Hungate, Tofer Brown)
- Arrows (Die For That Man) (Carter Faith, Steph Jones, Tofer Brown)
- Bar Star (Carter Faith, Aaron Raitere, Tyler Halverson, Tofer Brown)
- Betty (Carter Faith, Shane McAnally, Tofer Brown)
- Grudge (Carter Faith, Steph Jones, Tofer Brown)
- Six-String (Carter Faith, Lauren Hungate, Tofer Brown)
- If I Had Never Lost My Mind… (Carter Faith, Tofer Brown, Lauren Hungate, Jen Stegall)
- Misery Loves Company (Carter Faith, Lauren Hungate, Tofer Brown)
- Drink Up, Baby (Carter Faith, Amy Allen, Tofer Brown)
- Burn My Memory (Carter Faith, Jessi Alexander, Brock Berryhill, Jessie Jo Dillon)
- Sails (Carter Faith, Lauren Hungate, Tofer Brown)
- So I Sing (Carter Faith)
- Changed (Carter Faith, Ashley Monroe, Connie Harrington)
- Still A Lover (Carter Faith, Tofer Brown, Steph Jones)
