One verse into the opening track of the new Jeremy Pinnell album
is enough to announce that this record is going to resonate. True to form, TIES
OF BLOOD AND AFFECTION sticks to the rulebook, carrying on in a similar vein
right up until the final track where the peak is scaled. This rulebook is
straight down the middle-no frills country music undeterred from dipping into
life’s darker side, often born out of the bars, dancehalls and honky tonks
stretching across the land. This brand new nine-track album is the second
release from a no doubt proud Northern Kentuckian, a location that is not shied
away from being referred. This is a continuation of the previous record, which
contained the simple State abbreviated title OH / KY. Maybe the geographical references
do have some impact on a writer acknowledging the influence of their roots, but
the stellar selling value of the record is Pinnell’s acute ability to capture
the spiritual embodiment of country music.
Strong melodies primarily adorned with pedal steel and
twangy guitar tumble out of a series of songs, sung with the earthy grit of a seasoned
artist who has long moved on from first base. This is suitcase music
channelling a performer forever on the move, if not literally, certainly from a
mind-wandering perspective. The rhythmic undertones ensure it keeps its head
above the mayhem of a crowded room, heaven forbid even possibly garnering some
airplay. One certainty is that country music in its purest form will never die
as long as artists like Jeremy Pinnell are plying their trade.
“Laid up in the house full of hookers and wine” is the
corker of a line that opens the album in the track ‘Ballad of 1892’, one that is only eclipsed just over half an hour
later when perhaps the standout track acts as the untimely closer. ‘The Way We See Heaven’ is the song to
claim this mantle and is a glorious/inglorious take on religion dependent on
your persuasion. The line combo “in nineteen hundred and seventy seven my mama
thought I came from heaven…later in life she knew I came from hell” has not
been touched all year in its instant impact. To complete the lyrical nous,
things get a little risky in ‘Feel This
Right’, with “son, we broke the bed when we made you” being proclaimed in
the chorus of yet another song that truly is embedded in your mind – for the
right reasons.
Elsewhere on the album, standards refuse to drop. When the
rockers kick in such as ‘Ain’t Nothing
Wrong’ and ‘I Don’t Believe’,
they contain the ability to transport the listener from wherever they reside in
the world to the mythical existence of living and breathing a country song. On
the more temperate tracks such as the poignant ‘Different Kind of Love’, as well as the honest and frank standard ‘Best I Could Do’, Pinnell takes the
listener in his confidence and rewards their attention with music to pin your
hopes on.
‘Take the Wheel’
leads the final two tracks and holds most merit in the sumptuous musical
interludes that piece together its verses and chorus. Likewise, some great
music backs the seventies-style light rocker ‘I’m Alright With This’. Critically, all nine tracks play a part in
making this record a riveting listen from start to finish.
For its UK launch, TIES OF BLOOD AND AFFECTION is getting a
helping hand from At The Helm Records, though the release remains on SofaBurn.
A few UK dates have been lined up alongside Ags Connolly, on the surface one of
the more astute UK-US collaborations you are likely to see this year. Folks
discovering Jeremy Pinnell, either through one of those shows or engaging with
the new record, are in for a treat. Ultimately, this is country music that you
can dance, drink and cry to. What more is required?
www.jeremypinnell.com