Singer-Songwriter Chelsea Crowell’s music sounds like what one might expect if Alison Krauss were to go to a party and upon arriving there she decided to jam with Joan Baez and the Los Angeles band Raining Jane. On her website, Chelsea Crowell’s biography describes her music as a mixture of country and alternative pop genres, and this writer would suggest that that is too limiting of a description for the musical influences that we hear in her songs. Chelsea Crowell borrows more from traditional folk, or what some might call Americana, with some bluegrass influences. She also creates a hybrid of pop and what we will describe as alt noire folk and yes she does have some country grooves as well. One should not be surprised that Chelsea Crowell’s musical influences are so eclectic for her mother, Grammy Award winning singer – songwriter Rosanne Cash, also pulled from a number of genres and sub-genres, Ms. Crowell’s grandfather was country music legend Johnny Cash and her father is Grammy Award winning Country / Americana singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell. Even though Ms. Crowell moved from Nashville to New York City with her mother when she was ten years old, the influences of the deep south also inform her music, and perhaps not surprisingly, considering she attended colleges in Memphis, Charleston and Nashville.

The album opens with the low-key “Tremolo Trees,” built upon the foundation of Michael Backes’ percussive upright bass. William Tyler plays lead guitar, while Chelsea Crowell also accompanies herself on a nylon string guitar, as she sings this song about retaining one’s identity in relationships and in some cases finding one’s self again when relationships end.

Chelsea Crowell penned all of the songs on this album and the crowing jewel is “Where The Hell Is Robert E. Lee?” a song that talks about the destruction of the south by the Union forces during the Civil War and William Tecumseh Sherman’s March To The Sea. The song is very definitely written from the perspective of a southerner and brings together three of the subjects that Ms. Crowell studied in college, English, photography and the Civil War. Her eye for composition as a photographer comes into play as she paints vivid images from Savannah (Georgia), Charleston (South Carolina) and the state of Tennessee. There are images of an oak tree, a swayback mule, cotton seed and poverty. During a recent concert tour with her father, Chelsea Crowell joined him on stage and then performed “Where The Hell Is Robert E. Lee?” solo.  It was one of the highlights of the evening, as it is on this album, for the song moves well and it showcases Ms. Crowell’s vocals. While for the most part she sings with a quieter voice on this album, which garnered significant praise in Nashville when it was recorded in 2009, we are hoping to hear more songs like this on the new album that she is preparing to record. She finds her groove with “Where The Hell Is Robert E. Lee?” and she is clear and confident. Matt Kenney, Seamus Kenney and Mark Daumen comprise the background horn section on this song.

Several of the songs on this album have darker themes running through them and those revolve around relationships such as one of the middle tracks “Never Be A Beggar,” which addresses the issue of never allowing someone to demean you in a relationship, never allowing yourself to become so dependent on another that you will do anything, even beg. Drummer Brian Katzur who also played on “Where The Hell Is Robert E. Lee?” wields heavy sticks to create a dramatic tone for the song. Loney John Hutchins who co-produced the CD with Chelsea Crowell lends his gravelly vocals to the song in backing Ms. Crowell. For her part, Chelsea Crowell, does a good job of not allowing the drumbeats to overpower her vocals and although the words are dark and defiant, her vocals are lighter and her phrasing is solid. “Never Be A Beggar,” is solidly entrenched as an alternative song that likely will appeal to fans of lighter rock, pop, avant-garde and down-tempo (even though the beat is quicker). What Chelsea Crowell has successfully done with her first album is establish herself as an artist who is not afraid to experiment and who is willing to dabble in several musical genres and sub-genres, while pulling it off in style.

One of the more country music influenced songs on this album is the ballad “I Want My Seven Years Back,” a song that she sings as a duet with Rodney Crowell. This is another relationship song that is a grim photograph of a marriage taking its last breath. The woman in the song addresses her husband’s drunkenness and her desire to end the marriage.. The singer tells her man it is over, “I’ve lost the heart,” and “Maybe now you’ll know that I don’t love you.” The title for the song comes from the seven years that the couple has spent together.

The live recording of “Eddie Brown,” hears Ms. Crowell alone, slowly picking her guitar, joined by Marty Linville on keys, as the singer again engages in conversation with another lover who is about to bite the dust. Chelsea Crowell is an excellent songwriter and “Eddie Brown,” demonstrates her gifts as a poet.

We would strongly suggest that music fans pick up a copy of Chelsea Crowell’s self-titled album, because someday it will be a collector’s item. This is the first step in what looks like it will be a long and successful career by a gifted singer-songwriter who is about to follow in the footsteps of her illustrious family, only she is doing it her way, with her own signature sound.

You can listen to some of Chelsea Crowell's music by visiting her website           

Reviewed by Joe Montague

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