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What Roach does with compositions like ["Revelation"], "Freezing Car" and "Sears & Roebuck Suit" is to take the shadowy spirit of antique music and set it to haunting the world the rest of us live in, far removed from that time and place to which the old-time ballads and spirituals spoke as native language.
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From the start, Revelation marks Roach as The Man.
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His is one of those voices that doesn’t just pop up from behind a can of PBR, not even one that fades after a brief profile on NPR, but a timeless application of history to the present; haunting, crippled and, most of all, real.
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I get A LOT of music sent to my inbox. Most of it is destined for the Trash. But sometimes, an artist strikes a chord (no pun intended) and I wonder why more people aren’t blogging about them. A.J. fits that bill.
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Both this album [Revelation], and his first album, "Dogwood Winter" are excellent. Highly recommended.
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[Roach] steeps his music in rich mountain traditions, and then weaves modern imagery and instrumentation throughout. From spry-sounding suicide ballad “Clinch River Blues” and desperate lament “Streets of Omaha” to the gospel-influenced, anti-war title track, Revelation is an endearing anthology of life stories, colored with hearty, twangy vocals, plenty of strings and that unmistakable bluegrass spontaneity.
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Roach's second release is as tuneful as it is dark and a true revelation. Finely etched lyrics and musical adventurism in service of song make "Revelation" the best album I've reviewed this year.
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'Revelation' displays a deep reverence for the music of his spiritual ancestors. That being said, the man didn't grow up in a time-capsule, and so just like the aforementioned artists [Will Oldham, Vic Chesnutt and David Eugene Edwards], he brings an indie-rock-informed attitude and sensibility to the music ... Roach knows what he's doing, and he does it remarkably well.
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Revelation is a simultaneously grim and lovely album, full of sharp, vivid writing and soulful singing. It’s the southern gothic gospel of the halfway house and the homeless shelter, and it’s one of the best albums of the year.
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Singer-songwriters wear their hearts on their sleeves and AJ is no different, his is music pared down to the essentials, appealing to us because it has direct access to the soul.
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The highlight of the set was a song called “Revelation”, the title track from his newest record, for which Nels Andrews added acoustic guitar.
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Songs als het bijzonder soulvolle, mede door het orgel van Charlie Rowan gedragen “Freezing Car”, het met Anna Coogan gebrachte titelnummer en de fantastische opener “Clinch River Blues” zullen er wellicht zelfs voor gaan zorgen, dat we deze plaat straks in aanmerking zullen laten komen voor ons eindejaarslijstje.
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AJ Roach groeide op in Virginia en dat is nog steeds te horen. Er zit een behoorlijke portie Appalachia met bijbehorende bijbelse beeldspraak in zijn muziek. De knisperfrisse folkrock (laten we het zo maar even noemen) kent echter meer kanten. Zo worden de fantastische melodieën hier en daar opgesmukt met koperblazers (Revelation), een orgel (b.v. Devil May Dance), strijkers (b.v. Sears & Roebuck Suit). De 10 zelfgepende liedjes kenmerken zich bovendien door inventieve teksten waarbij niet voor de makkelijkste weg wordt gekozen. Meest opvallend is echter die stem van Roach: licht nasaal maar toch krachtig. Hij bezingt daarmee de dag des oordeels, de liefde, zelfmoord, leeghoofdige modepoppen. Kortom, het leven. En dat laat me na beluistering achter als een blij mens.
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Unnerving reflections of life's twists and vices confirm the emergence a major new talent
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Het is de tweede cd van deze uit Virginia afkomstige singer-songwriter, die opgroeide met de mountainmuziek uit de Appalachen. Die invloed is beslist hoorbaar, zowel muzikaal (folk) als tekstueel (bijbelse boodschappen naast drama) met Roach´ huilerige stem die zorgt voor de overtuigende aandikking. De titeltrack doet anders vermoeden, evenals de dominantie van snareninstrumenten als de mandoline en fiddles, maar blijven steken in het verleden is deze songsmid niet. Zo wordt Devil May Dance opgetuigd met een heerlijk bevrijd klinkend orgel (dat als reprise aan het eind nogmaals opduikt), zoemt het orgel ook op Freezing Car en ontluiken regelmatig strijkers, zowel folky als klassiek van karakter. Die extraatjes - het fluiten als instrument op Sears & Roebuck Suit stemt vrolijk - zorgen voor liedjes met meer melodieën, vaak stralend van toon.
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Wat maakt deze man zo uitzonderlijk, waardoor hij zich kwalitatief onderscheid van de gemiddelde singer-songwriter. Denk een aantal facetten. Ten eerste heeft de man de gave om een compositie terug te brengen tot een natuurlijke eenvoud, en krijgt de uitvoerig daarna een (op het eerste oog lijkende) losse benadering. ’s Mans schitterende zangstem wordt dan vervolgens weggezet tegen deze zeer basale en intieme klanken. Ik heb een hoog verwachtingsgehalte van deze man, en ik spreek de hoop uit dat hij nog veel schoons weet te creëren. Ook al kan dit album zich meten met “Dogwood Winter” – wat ik ook ervoer als een formidabel album – ik voel van binnenuit dat A.J. Roach tot (nog) beter in staat is.
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The sound on these two [songs from 'Revelation'] blur the line between indie folk and traditional folk. In fact "Devil May Dance" wouldn't have been out of place on the Donnie Darko soundtrack somewhere next to Gary Jules' take on Mad Mad World.
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Als een hedendaagse Dylan of John Prine combineert hij moeiteloos stokoude country, blues, folk en bluegrass uit de Appalachen tot een fascinerend geheel. Ook de veelal apocalyptische songteksten blijven eveneens een volle speellengte boeien. De ruwe en tegelijkertijd authentieke aanpak van A.J. Roach werkt ook hier wonderwel, waarbij nog maar eens bewezen is dat sommige genres nog steeds probleemloos opnieuw uitgevonden kunnen worden. Belangrijk is nog wel dat A.J. Roach op Revelation laat horen dat hij een eigengereide singer-songwriter is die zich nergens iets van aantrekt en uiteindelijk toch ook gewoon mooie liedjes maakt.
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He’s a fine singer and hugely accomplished musician whose well-crafted, thought-provoking songs are a pleasing sour mash of country, folk, bluegrass.
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A stunning singer/songwriter album, easily one of the best of the year - superb songs presented with real conviction. Highly recommended
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"The most impressive thing with this collection of songs is the immense care taken over the writing; he uses pretty strict rhyming schemes with his lyrics but the rhymes never seem to obstruct the flow of his story, but rather give it a rhythm that he emphasises with his singing.
The words play tag with each other, too; a word will be re-used in a new context in successive phrases so that the listener's brain has got the rhythm of the rhyme as well as the rhythm of the repeated word to engage with. Clever, well-worked stuff that rewards close attention and many hearings."
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Hugely impressive debut from an Appalachian raised songwriter who has mixed his strong roots with an emotional and affecting modern style.
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Listening ... is like looking into the flames of a fire. As your eyes go deeper and deeper, images appear and so all-consuming is the experience that everything around fades into nothingness.
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Roach took the audience packed into the backroom that serves as home to the estimable Fallen Angels club, on a backwoods travelogue that was virtually a masterclass in illustrating how much sophistication goes into creating so-called primitive music.
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In the corners of his voice, storms gather and break over asphalt in December, over buildings that rise above the tallest mountains, hearts that do whatever they want to, miners with Black Lung.
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A. J.Roach's performance was riveting. With fine original songs, and a unique vocal style, he will be with us for many seasons to come, not just here and now, in this West London 'Dogwood Winter' of ours.
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"A J Roach’s strong and distinctive voice embodied that archetypal ‘high lonesome sound,’ and the songs sounded both traditional and timeless at the same time. One of my colleagues remarked that he looked like he’d just stepped through a time warp from a Depression-era Kentucky mining town; another thought he sounded like a ‘hundred year old Richard Buckner.’"
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Roach is the real deal, in contrast to those neo-Oh Brother Where Art Thou pretenders who cover their middle-class origins in 'yee-haw' pastiche.
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"‘Dogwood Winter’ is a stunning collection of songs that are lyrically excellent as well as being musically engaging and authentic."
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"Roach, whose debut CD, “Dogwood Winter,” is drawing enthusiastic reviews, is the real deal – both in terms of his music and his heritage."
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A.J. Roach's Dogwood Winter album is one that gets better with every listen and soon you'll find yourself contemplating the lyrics, humming the tunes and wondering when that crazy cat is going to wander his way back to Seattle again. . . . Each song is as weathered as the cowboy boots he wears on his feet and each vocal intonation is as detailed and painstakingly placed as the elaborate floral stitching on his snappy cowboy shirt.
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[Dogwood Winter] isn’t just period music, historical music. This is music for underneath the freeway overpass, for the corner bar, for the bus stop. Inspired by old timey music, Roach takes the pains and stories of today, using the same bluegrass, country, and folk traditions to explore the heart of where we’re all struggling now.
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There's a sad beauty, a bittersweet melancholy that runs through the songs [on Dogwood Winter], as pure and welcome as an Appalachian spring.
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... Roach is a deep woods troubadour with a cunning wit and a southern gothic spiritualism that sounds older than voodoo. His music is parochial and far flung at the same time, witchy and unabashedly romantic ... He's a shitkicker poet with voice that crackles, pierces, smokes and then smoothes it all over with a shared shot of hope.
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Is there a genre for cosmopolitan hillbillies? Mountain-bred troubadour, A.J. Roach makes his home in Cali now, but his moonshine grumble and spooky backwoods lyricism harkens back to a world so remote and gorgeous that he makes Iron and Wine sound like a soundtrack for subdivision construction.
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This is quite simply the best singer-songwriter album of the year that you probably haven’t heard about... this will definitely make my best of the year list and find a home amongst the short stack of CDs that I never get around to shelving.
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A.J. Roach’s solo debut album Dogwood Winter isn’t flashy. It isn't upbeat. Nor is it complicated. It’s simply beautiful, focusing on emotion, family, and matters of the heart.
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It’s easy to get lost in [Roach's] stories of people, places and times we’ve never experienced.
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[Roach] is a soulful storyteller with the ability to paint landscapes and personal experiences with his masterful lyrics.
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Lyrically these songs are incredibly inviting to the lover of sad songs. They are more than pieces of music, more than songs, they are stories to be shared across the campfire, at the dinner table, and in the front yard of the church after the service.
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The songs on the album ... are so carefully structured and so organic that it's hard to fathom why Roach isn't bigger than he is.
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"The old saying may be that practice makes perfect, but in the world of songwriting, perfect can be boring. In the case of A.J. Roach, the result of his practice is far better than perfection, it’s a passionate songwriting style, one that digs into the past and celebrates the musical richness of his Appalachian home."
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"If you don't think you'd be into the soulful brand of country-folk AJ plays, you should attend one of his performances simply for his clever stage presence and dry wit. Once you're there, I guarantee he'll change your mind about the music."
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"His Americana folk songs unfold beautiful narratives and a gritty sentiment not heard since the late great Townes Van Zandt last broke the hearts of an audience."
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