SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE LONG RYDERS – HIGH NOON HYMNS

THE LONG RYDERS
HIGH NOON HYMNS
CHERRY RED RECORDS

It’s easy to dismiss any performer for abiding by the tropes or cliches of the genre they produce music in. All genres have them too: the oft-used blues-based riffage of classic rock, the limited and monotonous beats in modern hip-hop, the quiet-to-loud verse-to-chorus routines of indie bands. If you listen to enough music, you get the formulae down pat enough to want to jeer at it. On the other hand, those tropes are often welcome when one wants to default to a recognizable music and be easily seduced by it.

It’s safe to say that the Long Ryders have rehashed a certain formula for High Noon Hymns in the country rock milieu. Not the explosive boot-scootin’-boogie-line-dancing-mixed-with-a-KISS-esque-stage-show that emerged three decades ago. Rather the one that developed out of California five decades back: a country rock with yearning lyrics, tasteful pedal steel licks, rhythms that to bob one’s head to, and guitar breaks that are Opry solo-worthy but with a fuzz box added over top 12-string picking for some rock and roll addition. As decades have worn on, albums like The Byrds’ Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde, Blue Rodeo’s Casino, Uncle Tupelo’s Anodyne, and Billy Bragg and Wilco’ Mermaid Avenue all exemplified what became known, rightly or wrongly, as alternative country and hooked listeners to country-influenced music.

High Noon Hymns fits well with those. As a three piece and produced by Ed Stasium, the Long Ryders have crafted an album of familiar yet carefully executed songs. The songs flow in a certain, recognizable way too: there’s the moderately tempo-ed second track of “World Without Fear” with its surprising instrumental breakdown at 3:30 followed by a distorted rocker in “Stand a Little Further in the Fire”. The lyrics are extremely clever to boot. “Wanted Man in Arkansas” maintains much of the humour found in traditional country music, noting a broken heart and a botched liquor store robbery with tragicomedy delight in the same mandolin-and-dobro drenched song. Give a listen to “Rain in Your Eyes” and try NOT to sing along with the catchy refrain of the song title. In lieu of how oppressive and negative world affairs are, hearing “I propose a toast to the future!” in “Four Winters Away” is just plain refreshing.

The sounds and tone of High Noon Hymns are not necessarily original and definitely not experimental. But that’s of no consequence. As a true song collection, High Noon Hymns is bittersweet, funny, well-orchestrated, and original enough that it is not set to appeal to the average radio listener. The Long Ryders know what they do well and have served up a strong entry in their own catalogue that would doubtlessly be pleasing to fans and outsiders of their music alike.

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