Sera Cahoone - Only as the Day Is Long
The Rewards of Keeping It Simple.
Folk brings out the most jaded. We demand the veneer of something new and folk is by nature a style that reaches in reverse. So when we hear the tried and true progressions, timeless melodies, the ever-familiar arrangements - all can be highly impetus for a dismissive shrug. What, then, makes all of these folk conventions work so damn well for Sera Cahoone? What makes her sophomore album, Only as the Day Is Long, flow and lilt so beautifully? What makes it avoid being comparable and rather a charmer? Because Cahoone is the real deal. That soul comes through in everything she touches on Day, and it’s a beautiful thing.
That’s not to say that Only as the Day Is Long is purely a relic from the past. Cahoone clearly has her own voice, so you’re not likely to mix her up with her banjo-and-fiddle forbearers. Never one who does anything novel just for the sake of novelty, her personality keeps it all fresh and simple. It may nod to many, but opener ‘You Might As Well’ is unmistakably Cahoone; ditto the ghostly verse and soaring chorus of ‘Shitty Hotel,’ the catchy harmonies of ‘Runnin’ Your Way,’ and the steadily emotive march of ‘You Might As Well.’ It’s not that it’s anything new, it’s just that it’s awesome. Even the title track’s arrangement plays to the Band of Horses porch rockabilly with brilliance and identity.
Cahoone seemingly does what she does, does it remarkably well, and leaves it at that. Her alt-traditional preparations and straightforward lyrics give her songs their roots - their bones. But the life comes within her lovely voice and her perfectly-constructed melodies. And although we tend to forget it nowadays, that’s what folk and country music are all about.
Drew Messinger-Michaels
