Patty Griffin – Silver Bell
A&M Records
-out now
4 / 5

Our first listen to the much-delayed Silver Bell was one of relative disappointment. Compared to American Kid, the Maine-born folk singer’s latest release seemed less immediate, less pleasurable than the absolutely fantastic Kid. (Which we reviewed here.) Initially, we were thinking there was a reason it took thirteen years to get this album out there (you know, a negative reason), but again, that was our first listen. The reality of it is this: it’s different. Instead of going country on Kid, Griffin splays a laid-back, down-tempo rock groove throughout. And the fact of the matter is this: it’s good. It’s a grower, but it’s good.

Our favorite track, by and far, is “Sooner or Later;” a crooning, simple track that’s just so groovy, it just blasts us away. Simplicity is beauty. And songs like “One More Girl” are deceptive: they’re bare, they’re dark and smoky, they’re smooth like a good whiskey. These songs are direct, they’re confident in their rocking, and for a third album, it’s surprisingly mature. We still like American Kid and it’s folksy country-ness a bit more, but Silver Bell is still quite good, just a different kind of horse.

It’s got a different feel to it, but we’re giving it our thumbs up. Recommended.

Listen to “Truth #2.”

3 Comments

  1. I've loved this album for over 10 years, and I'm thrilled to see it officially released. I'm not fond of a song or two, but there lots of great tracks here, easily rivaling the best that Patty Griffin's ever done. This release has two new tracks (Fragile & Not So Long) apart from the long bootlegged original Silver Bell.

  2. Hello rogue!
    Didn't realize this'd been floating around for so long! My contact didn't mention that, but I should've looked into it considering almost half the songs here were covered really successfully. Thanks for the comment, and hope you're enjoying the blog,
    -Mgmt


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