The Lonesome Valley Singers
Memorial EP
Splendid Zine

"If you've read this site's coverage of Slim Cessna's Auto Club over the past several years, you'll no doubt be aware that I love that band to the point that, were I seventeen years younger and a girl, I would be spending all of my time writing "Mrs. Brett Cessna" on my noteboooks and carving "BM + CS 4 EVER" on the old oak tree. To be fair, my abject love of this band is simply the strongest expression of my general love for modern takes on old-timey, wrath-of-the-Lord, bad-doin's-in-the-holler Americana. Which is why David Chenery & The Lonesome Valley Singers are threatening to become an all-new love affair. From the opening wail of "Dead Birds", it's obvious that Chenery clearly attended the Jay Munly School of High-Throated, Vaguely Disconcerting Redneck Warbling, and graduated Summa Cum Laude. Moreover, the song is based on an insistent 6/8 guitar figure that's punctuated by a Civil War-style snare rat-a-tat and ringing bells. It's like Christmas, I tell you.

As it turns out, much of the rest of Memorial shies away from "Dead Birds"' sinister, implicit threat: tracks like "In The Morning" (which calls to mind Harry Nilsson's brilliant "Everybody's Talking At Me") and the gentle perfection of "Late September" recast the group as a tender, folky outfit highlighted by the interplay of Chenery's vocals and some beautiful female backing vox. There are only eight tracks on Memorial, but each one is a highlight in its own way. The group's treatment of Hank Williams's "When God Comes and Gathers His Jewels" does the legend proud, and Chenery's rendition of the traditional "St. James Infirmary" is a powerful evocation of death and beauty.
Memorial's closer, "The Last Parade", brings back some of the feel of "Dead Birds", though this time that sound is recast in a major key, producing a lazy-day shuffle that screams springtime. As is the case throughout, Chenery's vocals sound just on the edge of cracking, which lends them a poignancy that's hard to describe, and the aforementioned vocal interplay never disappoints. As near as I can tell, Memorial may be available only from the band's website, or from the group itself on tour. Take a listen to the sound clip and the boombox track; if you like those, rest assured that the rest of the album is just as good."

- Brett McCallon - Splendid Zine