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Eliza Gilkyson – Land of Milk and Honey
Eliza’s previous two releases on Red House Records (‘Hard Times in Babylon’ and ‘Lost & Found’) have been deservedly well received by critics and public alike, and they stand out as two of the strongest singer/songwriter discs of the past few years. This new release is likely to receive similar praise, but it’s also guaranteed to pick up a wider press due to the nature of the songs – she’s always had an edge to her writing, but she takes it a step further here and this is basically a collection of songs that have a socio/political feel and lyrically she certainly doesn’t pull her punches – this really is contemporary American folk at it’s finest.
It starts with ‘HiWay 9’ a strong commentary on the Iraq conflict and the American government, and finishes with ‘Peace Call’ an unrecorded Woody Guthrie track with an obvious anti-war theme. The songs sandwiched by these two tracks address current issues and themes in a similarly uncompromising manner and covers ground rarely touched by songwriters and this undoubtedly makes ‘Land of Milk & Honey’ one of the most lyrically challenging discs around.
While that description may make the disc sound unrelenting and difficult, this is actually an instantly appealing disc, Eliza’s vocals are smooth and engaging and as with all her albums the melodies are superb and stick with you from the initial listen onwards.
The assembled musicians are of the highest order, the quality and depth of the instrumentation is striking and includes guitars, accordion, dobro, cello, fiddle and dulcimer amongst other accompaniment. This feeling of depth and quality is reinforced by the list of vocalists helping out on the disc which includes Patty Griffin, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Slaid Cleaves and Iris Dement.
‘Land of Milk and Honey’ is an outstanding disc in every area – it’s one of the most lyrically interesting disc of the past few years as it manages to deal with issues without ever preaching or sounding clumsy, and this is backed up by some superb musicians and a melodic accessibility that immediately draws the listener in. Highly recommended.
GILKYSON ELIZA - LAND OF MILK AND HONEY
Gilkyson Eliza
CD (Cat No: 12862)
GILKYSON ELIZA - LAND OF MILK AND HONEY
