Brandi Carlile
Bear Creek

I'll say it with the utmost frankness: I don't believe this is the best place to talk about records and artists of this genre: “name recognition” is nonexistent or almost so, and it's a factor that matters, oh, if it matters… and a genre that usually attracts very little attention. Brandi Carlile does country; not a cheap Oklahoma dive bar country or, much worse, a glossy jet-set abomination, but neither is her style the kind of country that's considered cool; one could say that Brandi Carlile is a good and honest craftsman of her genre, a balanced artist, an effective songwriter, capable of reaching the listener with simplicity and spontaneity, with traditional sounds interpreted with enthusiasm and the right conviction, without complications and unnecessary self-indulgence.

Born in '81, originally from the state of Washington, truth be told, Brandi Carlile enjoys a good level of popularity in the States, not as much as a deplorable Taylor Swift or Miranda Lambert, but it's still a perfectly respectable upper-mainstream level. Here with us, though, not a chance, unfortunately. In any case, we're talking about a country/folk album with a significant gospel influence, present in the melodies and arrangements of some tracks and, above all, transversely, in the vocals, always set towards a slight but distinctly perceivable theatricality. Among other things, Brandi has a great voice, clear, powerful, and expressive, very flexible, that rarely gives the impression of “forcing,” so this style suits her perfectly.

“Bear Creek” (2012) is, in its own way, an almost perfect album. From a structural point of view, especially; a good stylistic variety, catchy melodies just enough, appreciable maturity and effectiveness. The atmospheres are generally relaxed, sweet, bordering on bucolic, with a couple of notable exceptions: “Raise Hell”, an urgent country-rock with an outlaw/western aftertaste, not outstanding but pleasantly catchy, and “Rise Again,” an electric performance à la Sheryl Crow, with bluegrass influences in the verses and a certain Native American flavor in the choruses accompanying the refrain. The heart of “Bear Creek” however lies elsewhere, in tracks like “Hard Way Home”, acoustic but with great vitality and melodic progression; it's the gospel influences that make the difference, while in the similar but less emphatic “Save Part Of Yourself”, the banjo harmonies are appreciated, with a delightfully bluegrass flavor.

Obviously, there's no shortage of slow songs, and fortunately, Brandi knows how to handle them well: with “That Wasn’t Me" she veers a bit out of the country-folk niche, proposing a beautiful piano-ballad infused with gospel, while in “A Promise To Keep”, one of the album's highest peaks, she immerses completely back in, with a heartfelt melody, of a classic and simple flavor that prevents any excess of melodrama. More bluegrass arpeggios in the crescendo of “In The Morrow,” while the closing “Just Kids” offers more expansive and subdued sounds, resorting to orchestrations and even electronics; it might seem somewhat “sleepy,” at least on a distracted listen, but even here the substance is not lacking. The arrangement is rather manneristic and off-topic compared to the rest of the album, to the point of partially compromising the effectiveness of what, with a slightly more sober approach, would have been a beautiful and introspective folk song.

Simplicity, therefore, is the key word, and also one of Brandi Carlile's greatest qualities; just think of the effectiveness of a simple melody like that of “Hearts Content”, and of “Keep Your Heart Young”, the song that, more than any other, comes close to the more traditional country; great melody and a straightforward text, halfway between innocence and bitterness; something like that wouldn't be out of place in the repertoire of a Loretta Lynn, for example, or some other “grand ole lady.”

Anyway, I would say that “Bear Creek” is generally an adorable album: absolutely not innovative, no particular pretensions, but it works perfectly. It can be defined as a folk, country, American record, put any label you prefer in front, but in cases like this I find it much more constructive and appropriate to “globalize” the context a bit: for me, “Bear Creek” is simply a more than good quality radio music album; I believe and hope that's enough.