The temptation to use the pun of going straight to your
veins is too good to resist when referring to this album as BLOOD TEST
possesses a penetrative quality seeking to seep deep into your inner senses.
Kris Delmhorst had taken a six year break between albums of original material
and if this is your introduction to the New York raised artist now living in
Massachusetts, you’re in for a treat. Listening to this album re-enforces the
view that Americana music is best heard rather than defined with its drooling
melodies melting into the sumptuous sound and thoughtful lyrics.
This is Kris’s seventh album and although she is new to me,
her husband, the fine song writer Jeffrey Foucault, has crossed my path on
numerous occasions. Kris herself seeks only self-inspiration for her songs
rather than collaboration or interpretation as twelve solo-write originals fill
a record lavished with soft pedal steel and shimmering soulful organ. For this
project Kris has teamed up with Anders Parker and together they have assembled
a tightknit four piece band to create a sound fluctuating between tender vibes
and impassioned soft rock.
The temptation to continually delve into this record emerges
with the opening and title track ‘Blood
Test’ and successfully retains your full attention throughout its 42 minute
duration. The magnetic allure of this track’s infectious chorus makes it a top
candidate for the album’s standout song but listen on and you’re subsequently
spoiled for choice. Any song title referencing the Buckeye state makes me take
note and ‘My Ohio’ is a beauteous
effort demonstrating Kris’s capacity to pay tribute to a friend in the best way
she knows.
The delicate tones of ‘Homeless’
will ease you through any stressful day while on the subject of habitation, we
get a nostalgic insight to Kris’s past on ‘92nd
St.’ Based on her memories being reignited when returning to New York City
to record the album, this emotional track moves freely between the soft
undertones of her vocal style and the rousing impact Kris and Anders wanted from
the band completed by multi-instrumentalist Mark Spencer and percussionist
Konrad Meissner. Together they let it rip for a brief moment on the short
number ‘Temporary Sun’ with a blast
of rock impregnating the waves of passive elegance.
‘Saw It All’, ‘Bees’, ‘We
Deliver’ and ‘Lighthouse’ are all
adorned by some glimmering organ, a sound which works so well on a deep rooted
record drawing on a multitude of musical styles and influences. Of the
remaining tracks, ‘Little Frame’ has
a lounge like feel with a hint of pedal steel and mellow piano, while ‘Bright Green World’ veers in a pop
direction with a communicable beat. Light acoustic strumming heralds ‘Hushabye’, a stripped back number with a
lullaby sentiment.
BLOOD TEST will enrich your listening repertoire and is just
the tonic when you require a touch of sensitivity with a little edge. By
seeking out UK press it can only be assumed that a visit by Kris Delmhorst sometime
in the future is being considered and these songs certainly have the depth to
take on a whole new entity when played live.