Quinn Hedges\u2019 pitch for this, his fourth and latest solo album, was populated with the usual background and namedrops\u2014for example, the album was co-engineered and mixed by Grammy winner Tim Sonnefeld and mastered by the great Bob Ludwig. As if to prove the value of doing so, however, what moved the needle from modest to active interest from this particular reviewer was Hedges\u2019 mention of his hometown: Sacramento, the Northern California city where my family spent more than two decades, the place where my kids grew up. Okay fine<\/i>, said the notorious homer to himself, we\u2019ll give this one a shot<\/i>. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s a good thing, too, as my homey does not disappoint. Its slightly awkward title aside, Slightly South Of Stormy Clouds<\/i> offers a solid showcase for Hedges\u2019 creative, crafty singer-songwriter work, dipping into elements of folk, rock, blues, jazz and funk. The album is a bit of a family affair, with Quinn and cousin John B. Hedges co-producing and various other Hedges (Bernie, June, Rebecca) providing background vocals in multiple instances. Make no mistake, though: this a clean, crisp and thoroughly professional production from start to finish.<\/p>\n
Opener \u201cHeartbreak Goes Both Ways\u201d suggests immediately that you\u2019re in for an imaginative ride, opening with a strings-and-vocals arrangement before the acoustic guitar and piano take over and recast a similar verse and identical chorus inside a fresh arrangement. Then at 3:10 the bridge explodes into a heavy rock segment. Call it progressive pop or whatever you like; it\u2019s a frothy concoction that takes a rather minimalist lyric and stretches things out to 5:20 without ever losing the thread.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou Don\u2019t Even Know\u201d clarifies Hedges\u2019 approach and appeal, a limber folk-rock tune that feels very Dave Matthews with its churning acoustic rhythm guitar and swirling strings counter-pointed\u00a0 by a complex rhythm section pattern. There\u2019s a familiar feeling to the vocals as well, which take on a John Mayer-ish cast: breathy, earnest, entreating. \u201cStay\u201d is in a similar vein, Matthews-influenced in the interplay between acoustic guitar, strings, rhythm section, and breathy, urgent vocals.<\/p>\n
Hedges offers nothing if not variety, though. \u201cForever More\u201d is straight-up country-folk, a love song with mandolin and sweet female harmony vocals from Alison Harris, while \u201cLoss For Words\u201d has kind of a jazz-balladeer, Harry Connick \/ Spencer Day feel, featuring piano, upright bass, muted trumpet and sax. \u201cFly Away\u201d takes this a step farther with strong funk undertones and a rhythm section and horn accents that set my fingers to snapping all the way through the stinging guitar solo. <\/p>\n
Even after that run of different looks, \u201cI\u2019m Gone\u201d still manages to surprise, opening airy and full of echo on the vocals and cymbals, before launching into big, angsty alt-rock choruses that essay the bitter dissolution of a relationship (\u201cI\u2019m gone \u2013 I just haven\u2019t told you yet\u201d), capped by a rather exotic, echoey, slightly Gilmour-esque solo. \u201cAnymore\u201d then offers a sad acoustic goodbye (\u201cNow you won\u2019t hear from me anymore\u201d) that reminds a bit of Luke Winslow-King<\/a>, with the string section adding texture and poignancy to a tune full of strong lyrical bits and harmony vocals.<\/p>\n \u201cStarting Today\u201d opens with gently bluesy piano, referencing the album title in opening bars that remind of the same from \u201cWalking In Memphis.\u201d The arrival of horns, drums and electric guitar gives things a celebratory feel, and then around 3:00 they drop into a reggae backbeat; it\u2019s that progressive pop thing again, shifting gears as the mood of the lyrics shifts. Hedges closes things out with a love song: \u201cMy Angel\u201d is a pleasant acoustic ballad that builds, adding banjo and strings and backing vocals in the fifth minute for a powerful finish.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Two other cuts here (\u201cHoney\u201d and \u201cCalm Down\u201d) are little more than interludes, minute-long ideas that never really develop into songs, but carry the vibe nicely. Overall, Slightly South Of Stormy Clouds<\/i> offers a solid platform for a talented singer-songwriter to showcase a range of styles. There\u2019s a lot to admire here: imaginative arrangements and superb musicianship; extra-clean production that nonetheless holds onto that organic feel of real people playing real instruments, and no auto-tune (\u201cNo voices were harmed in the creation of this album\u201d). <\/p>\n Slightly South<\/i> explores\u2014and does justice to\u2014a variety of different musical approaches under the expansive umbrella of modern chamber pop. Way to represent, Hedges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":32973,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[9931],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-44754","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-quinn-hedges","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/44754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/44754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=44754"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=44754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}