For: Sierra Farrell's Trail Of Flowers

A modern country album (roots?), referencing the roots of old country while letting modern motifs and musical approaches come in on the edges. All to most of the songs are from the perspective of a Appalachian woman going through life.
Sierra Farrell is 36 years old from West Virginia. She was influenced by the bluegrass of her home state, and may other genres. For a time she was the vocalist in a grateful dead cover group. She released this, and her other albums, with Rounder Records.

Favorites: Rosemary, Fox Hunt, Money Train, Wish You Well.
FCCs = None.

Song breakdown for the whole album
1. American Dreaming (4:17) = An almost orchestral country song. seems to combine elements of modern female artists like Aurora, and also the instrumentation and playing style of "old country". The song gets quite choral and musically big at the end.
2. Dollar Bill Bar (3:29) = A rhythmic chorus picks up at 0:40 and maintains its faster pace until the end. The song is about how our protagonist is surrounded with transient men, and captures their heart for a time and then passes them out. The last verse provides a window into the deep internal pain of being that character.
3. * Fox Hunt (3:17) = This song has a great tempo, while a banjo keeps the pace up. A banjo bridge at 2:30 raises the pace. Its very much a fox hunt. Feels like an Appalachian ballad, reminiscent of older, and simpler, times.
4. Chittlin' Cookin' Time In Cheatham Country (3:01) = This song has a rolling and enjoyably sinister melody. Chittlin's are the intestines of animals, as if doing the "laundry" of illegal work is where our protagonist wants to be.
5. * Wish You Well (3:38) = The song is a sad guitar, and eventually fiddle, surrounded by a band of country instruments. Its about the pain of loving someone who has hurt you, and still letting them go, summed up well in the line: 'though you've hurt me, I still wish you well'.
6. * Money Train (2:40) = Has a kind of train sound - 4/4, with a high hat. A woman who heard about a couple on the high plains of Texas who's male member was too much the wanderer, and wasn't willing to stay with the pain.
7. I Could Drive You Crazy (3:36) = Fiddle is quite strong in the song, providing a foundation for the song to be built off. The singer is saying they really don't have much to bring to a relationship, but the refrain "I can drive you crazy" implies she is willing to grow old with the person. The strengthening fiddle throughout the song implies the love that is growing between the two lovers. Cheering at the end of the song, is almost like a marriage.
8. Why Haven't You Loved Me Yet (2:15) = An anticipatory tone continues throughout the song, with a guitar, and occasional backup singing. A steel pedal guitar provides the bridge. About a crush, and why our character isn't picked by the male.
9. * Rosemary (3:36) = Only an acoustic guitar plays in the song, and makes it feel like an utterly captivating campfire song. It is almost like a fairy tale, about a lover who has left and cheated. Tempo change around 1:00. After 2:00 the song adds an electric guitar subtly. Then the protagonist kills the lover, a piece of information which recontextualizes the whole song!
10. Lighthouse (3:38) = A few harmonizing backup singers makes the song distinct from the others. Otherwise, an acoustic guitar and fiddle another stringed instrument or two hold down the song. The protagonist of the song implores someone to be their soulmate.
11. I'll Come Off The Mountain (1:44) = Quite a bouncy song, punctuated by fiddle. The song is about staying in a naïve happy place - the mountain - by being called by a transformative love. The protagonist is happy in the mountain, but is drawn off by a lover. The protagonist knows its a bad idea, but will do it anyway.
12. No Letter (2:20) = A woman who didn't receive a letter from a lover killed away. The melody and singer's inflection provides a kind of numbness which would seem to underly the deep melancholy of the song. The start of some soft crying at the end - very faint - helps drive the point home.

Alex Strong (08/24)

COUNTRY: ALT-AMERICANA; FEMALE SINGER-SONGWRITER

Ferrell’s fourth full-length album & her first since Long Time Coming (2021). There’s a bigger band & fuller sound, but we still get authentic adherence to traditional styles and sensibilities. Ferrell sings & plays guitar or fiddle. Many of the songs here are story telling: life on the road, in a bar, on a hunt, in the woods. All songs are written or co-written by Ferrell except #4 (by Fiddlin’ Arthur Smith). Lyrics & credits are provided in the booklet.

FCC clean

1 *** mid-slow. Sweet Dolly-esque vocals.Trying to hold on to a good life while chasing the dream. Nice guitars, banjo, steel guitar, backing choir. A wonderful song! (4:17)
2 mid-tempo.Wistful remembrances by a woman who’s spent too much time in bars with too many guys. Elec guitar & harmonica solos. (3:29)
3 mid-fast. a tale of fox hunting - not an upper class sport, but a hill country necessity (3:18)
4 slow. jazzy & slightly humorous. cooking up some chitlins down home (3:02)
5 ** slow. gorgeous & broken-hearted. You broke my heart, but I wish you well (3:38)
6 * mid-tempo. Retro Country & Western; loving a man who won’t settle down (2:40)
7 ** mid-tempo. I’m not good for much, but I’d be good for you. Fun & joyful (3:36)
8 ** mid-fast. Retro & very fun. We should be together. Hawaiian steel guitar; strong lead vocal performance with good b/g choir (2:15)
9 mid-tempo. in this spooky tale she kills her lover & the woman he’s cheating with (3:36)
10 *** mid-tempo. a sweet love song. graceful acoustic accompaniment of guitar, mandolin, fiddle & bass. very nice female & male vocal interaction (3:39)
11 mid-tempo. old-timey, folk-dance feel; cutey-pie voice (1:45)
12 * mid-tempo. I’m pining away without you; why won’t you write. all acoustic (2:21)