The Lonesome Brothers’ third album is another fine outlet for the songwriting of Jim Armenti and Ray Mason. They’re rounded out as a trio by drummer Bob Grant and a few other pals (including the album’s producer, Jim Weeks), who contribute assorted flourish and sweetening on instruments from pedal steel to harmonica.
The dozen songs are divided evenly between the two writers. It’s an especially riveting format for Mason, whose own band explores rootsy strains as an adjunct to British Invasion combo sensibilities. Here, the grittiness adds a resonant back-porch bluesiness to songs that clearly wouldn’t work as well with his other outfit.
“Early In The Spring” oozes gorgeous sonic melancholy. In fact, melancholy paints this whole album with rich broad strokes. Though couched in sad backwards glances, Armenti’s “Took Me For A Ride” is ultimately a story of music triumphing over diminished circumstances. Dreams remain unrealized, but when the brightly articulated chorus comes in, it’s like a ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds. Similarly, Mason’s “A Way Out Of No Way” offers hope in the guise of Beatlesque guitar parts.
In fact, the constant throughout this whole album is the graceful tension between world-weary lyrics and bright chords, melodies and arrangements. Swamptown Girl is a subtle treatise on the curative powers of music. The tales may give one cautionary pause, but the songs’ easy grooves and the band’s warm interplay are as inviting as a back rub.
