| Issue
#96
Jun. '07
It’s easy to believe that Lost Souls Road cuts right through the
heart of Nashville.
After all, the sound of Honky-Tonk, Juke joints spill out of the
speakers and the tales of
heartache, longing, and somebody done somebody wrong are all neatly
lined up as
matter-of-factly as any roadside attraction. So it may be surprising to
find that this
beautiful, yet troubled, stretch of country expression starts in, ends
in, and never
leaves New Haven, CT.
Kriss
Santala’s Lost Souls Road is a
country based, Carter Family style montage that incorporates every
offshoot of the genre,
from Traditional, to Alt., Ambient, New, Rock and more – call
it Neo-Country. Opening
with One Good Thing,
the
disc hurtles down
Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues line like a runaway train.
A sinister, low, surf
vibe sliding along a lap steel guitar as Kriss establishes her June
Carter vocals, all the
while allowing the guitar bridge to take the spotlight as needed.
So
What If I’m
Wrong follows and we’re
smack dab in the Grand Ole Opery. This is as solid of an
across-the-board country tune as
you’re ever going to hear. Musically, vocally, it is spot on.
Ms. Santala knew the
sound she was looking for and she got it, 100% perfection. Stacy
Phillips’ fiddle
playing, matched with Clark Huckaby’s mandolin, is a joy to
the ears, while James
Montez (guitar), Bob Elliott (bass), and Tom Smith (drums) carry us
along Nashville’s
hallowed halls, bringing back the classic eclecticism of pure country.
Coupled with heart
aching lyrics and inflective vocals, this provides the packed dirt
under the wheels on Lost Souls Road.
Kriss Santala
is a veteran of the New Haven,
CT
music scene, logging more bands than the years can count. Her distinct
vocals can be
heard harmonizing with everybody on CDs too numerous to mention. There
isn’t a style
she can’t sing, harmonize, or play an instrument to. So it
was only natural that when
she decided to record a bunch of her own songs, she was able to hand
pick any of the great
quality musicians the New Haven
scene has to offer. Naturally, anyone asked to play for
Kriss would go out of their way to provide not only what she was
looking for, but go more
than the extra mile to make as professional a recording as you will
hear from an
independent artist in an independent scene.
Lost Souls Road
even takes us to Twin Peaks
with the Angelo Badalamenti inspired Hear What I
Say. A stunning, chilling, amazing ballad
– and one of the most alluring
songs I’ve ever heard. This song draws so much compassion
from my heart that I just
want to wrap my arms around her, cry with her, and love her. A sparse
arrangement with
just Don Phee on guitar, Kriss’ vocals (with double tracked
harmonies) and a gut
wrenching trumpet by Ed Crowder (which I thought was a Harmonium until
I read the liner
notes). The mix by Bob Elliott is astounding, and Kriss
Santala, who is credited as both writer and producer, shows
that she is in the elite
of songwriters. Presented with such raw emotion, Hear What I Say brings
everything to a
standstill.
How do you follow that? You lighten the mood
musically with Uh Huh,
a sort of Bonnie Hayes, Edie Brickell,
kick-off-your-shoes-and-frolic-in-the-grass sound.
Santala uses ace guitarist Dean Falcone to walk it down with Shellye
Valuskas (guitar).
With Jim Balga (drums), they kick the elation in the air to mask the
seriousness of the
(country drama) lyrics – How even though he abuses her, the
narrator still wishes to
include him in her escape fantasy, and it will all be different. But
until then, “Uh Huh”
is the only defense that gets her
through the day(s).
Next, the country croon of The Other Side
brings together the Fiddle and Mandolin arrangement of Stacy Phillips
and Clark Huckaby
again, and once again, it is breath taking. This song about a spiritual
encounter with a
lover/loved one who has passed (crossed over) - “Just goes to show / that I know you’re
around /
Just goes to show / that I know your love hangs ‘round me”
– is
beautiful, simply beautiful. This is easily the song of the year.
Shiver,
with Kriss’ incredible vocals sounding like June Carter
singing Patsy Cline while
channeling Dusty Springfield, is even more quality writing. This song
belongs in every Nashville
jukebox. As rounded as anything you’ll hear coming out of the
music city, this tragic
tale of heartache and longing is the perfect piece of the brokenhearted
puzzle. To
authenticate it all the more, Chris Merek and Steve Baldino (guitars),
Bob Elliott (bass),
Bill Holoman (keyboards), and Wayne Kenyon (drums) lay down a melody
deserving of George
Jones.
To wrap the album, Kriss
Santala tapped the
final line up of New Haven’s
legendary band, The
Mocking Birds. With James Velvet (guitar and backing vocals),
Johnny Java (bass), Dick
Neal (Mandolin, guitar), and Jon Peckman (drums), Still recounts another tale of
longing,
heartache, need, desire, and of course, unrequited love. The
instruments yearn and weep,
the vocals plead and hope, and the country score closes in grand
tradition spotlighting
the genius that can be worked with a stable of professional independent
musicians from a
music scene that supports more genre hopping than can be imagined. That
is, unless you’re Kriss Santala,
and
you’ve played in more
bands than you can remember, and that once you’ve decided to
make an album of your
own, not only did you recruit the best, but you took 6 years to do it
the way you wanted
it done.
Take a ride down Lost
Souls Road and
discover what New Haven,
CT
has that Nashville
doesn’t.
Kriss
Santala - Lost Souls Road
is available now for: $6.98 +s/h*
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