SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: SUZIE UNGERLEIDER – AMONG THE EVERGREENS (DELUXE EDITION)

SUZIE UNGERLEIDER
AMONG THE EVERGREENS (DELUXE EDITION)
MVKA

A good album is like a friend who you may not have seen in a while. When you meet up, the reunion is sweet, and the conversation picks up as if no time has passed at all. Among The Evergreens (Deluxe Edition) by Suzie Ungerleider, is an album like that.

Since it originally came out just last year, Among The Evergreens’ re-release as a deluxe edition is a bold and unusual move, for both the artist and the record label. For fans of the original release (and for the benefit of new listeners), the album’s songs remain intact, with all of their charm, wonderful songwriting and performances, and stellar production. These songs are the old friends that I was referring to. They have not been heard in a while, but it is nice to hear them again, and we stand by our assessment of those songs, at their first release.

What is new in the deluxe package is an additional song, the single “Amsterdam,” which is a collaboration between Suzie Ungerleider and the Canadian folk rock duo Whitehorse. This song is a great mid-tempo rocker, and its performance and production benefits from the contributions of Whitehorse’s Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland. While it is an excellent song, it stands alone as a bit of an outlier, in terms of fitting in with the rest of the album. Perhaps this song would be more at home on an expanded Ungerleider/Whitehorse collaboration, but it sort of sticks out in this collection.

The real star of this deluxe package is the set of acoustic renderings of four songs from the original album: “Real Estate,” “Juniper,” “College Street,” and “Mount Shasta.” With accompaniment by Dutch guitarist BJ Baartmans, these songs absolutely shine. Ungerleider’s understatedly direct, honest, and beautiful vocal performances here are truly a testament to the quality of the songs, as they stand up so well in this simple presentation. Baartmans’ contributions are inspired and his guitar work is sublime. The acoustic versions of these songs help to elevate Ungerleider from simply being an Americana chanteuse to being a purveyor of true, pure, traditional folk music.

Kudos to Suzie Ungerleider for extending her efforts with this deluxe package. No matter how the project is received, the comfort conveyed in the artist’s voice, her lyrical imagery, and songwriting skill always shine through. Among The Evergreens (Deluxe Edition) is definitely deserving of multiple spins.

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