OLD SONGS ARE NEW SONGS WITH THE YOUNG FABLES

Album Review – The Young Fables OLD SONGS Nashville-based duo (and Class 2 NU alums) The Young Fables (Laurel Wright and Wesley Lunsford) release their sophomore album, “Old Songs”, a record that reminds us of the beauty of traditional country. I open the CD and read the inside jacket. It reads… ...

Album Review – The Young Fables OLD SONGS

Nashville-based duo (and Class 2 NU alums) The Young Fables (Laurel Wright and Wesley Lunsford) release their sophomore album, “Old Songs”, a record that reminds us of the beauty of traditional country.

I open the CD and read the inside jacket. It reads…

“MODERN TRADITIONAL COUNTRY”

Wait… what? Is that an oxymoron? I’m confused.

Don’t be.

Once you listen to the newest ablum “Old Songs” from The Young Fables, you will know exactly what they mean.

Some might argue that today’s ‘country’ music is not really country music at all. Some say it’s pop music or rock ‘n roll with a Southern twang and cliché lyrics about tractors, beer, and ‘Murica.

But no one would ever say that about this record.

The Young Fables do ‘country’ music right – the way country music ought to sound – the way it did generations ago before the genre crossed over to pop radio, before T. Swift, before autotune and electronic MIDI tracks. Before country music… evolved(?).

Now we’re not necessarily saying that the evolution of the country music genre is a bad thing; we love progress and reinvention. However, we certainly appreciate it when artists make music that honors the original roots of a genre. And country music has some deeeeeeep roots in the big ol’ U.S. of A.

WHAT IS COUNTRY MUSIC?

I know you already know, but let’s make sure we’re all on the same page anyway…

Country music originated in the rural southern U.S. with influences from folk and blues music. It often consists of ballads, simple form melodies, and story-telling lyrics, and uses string instruments like acoustic guitar, steel guitar, and fiddle.

The Young Fables can check all ‘dem boxes in the traditional country checklist on this album.

Southern roots? Check. (They grew up in Maryville, TN).
Folk and blues influence? Check.
Ballads? Check. (Most of the tracks on the record).
Lyrics that tell a story? Check.
Traditional string instrumentation? Check. (They didn’t record with any instruments that didn’t exist before 1975).

Now onto that ‘modern’ part…

It’s 2018, in case you didn’t realize. It’s been nearly 100 years since country music’s birth, and Jimmie Rodgers, Roy Acuff, Hank Williams, even the Carter family, are sadly long gone. We’ve still got Loretta Lynn though!

And that’s where I think The Young Fables fit best: in 1950s America – the era of the female ‘countrypolitan’ singer. Lead singer Laurel Wright belongs right in there with Ms. Lynn, Tammy Wynette, and Patsy Cline in her ability to tell a story, make you cry, and emote every feeling in your body with a her smooth, pitch-perfect vocals.

Yeah that’s right, I compared Laurel to Patsy Cline! You know, your mouth wouldn’t be so agape right now at my audacity had you ever heard her cover of “Crazy”! Then again, your mouth probably would STILL be agape, although for a different reason.

So, now do you ‘get’ it? Modern. Traditional. Country.

Got it? Good. Let’s move on then.

OLD SONGS

Every song on this album is new, having been written or co-written by The Young Fables over the past few years. Yet, the songs feel…well… old.

Here I go again with the contradictory language again, right?!

Allow me to explain.

The Young Fables believe in passing down the wisdom and voices of yesteryear, telling the stories of our generations of families that came before us. And that’s literally what The Young Fables have done! “Old Songs” is very much a result of long nights spent on the front porch with Laurel’s grandparents at their home in east TN listening to tales of broken hearts, sacrifices, hardships, lessons learned, and even drug addiction (track seven “Your Kind of Company”).

Within the first line of track four, “Old Songs”, Laurel sings about “the words [running out] in Maryville”, a story about a couple that married young and the loneliness of not seeming to know each other anymore. Track eight, “Sawmill Wages”, a sort of take on the classic “Coal Miner’s Daughter”, we learn about a mother who leaves her husband (and baby, yikes!) behind to pursue a different life in Atlanta because she “can’t live on sawmill wages and muddy roads” anymore.

NEW STORIES

But it’s not only stories of yesteryear that make for great American story-telling. The final track, “They Don’t Make ‘Em Like You”, is about Wes’ father, who “knew when to give a hug and when to throw a punch / knew how to build an engine from the bottom up.” Sadly, he passed away from cancer a few years back. Laurel never got the chance to meet him, so the only way Wes could ‘introduce’ Laurel to his father was to give her a tour of his ‘man cave’ filled with whiskey bottles, transistor radios, and tools – mementos that appear in the lyrics of the song.

Track six, “Daddy’s Girl”, is a particularly sentimental song about the relationship between Laurel and her father. She sings:

He gave me the best years of my life / I must’ve took a few from him ‘cause I was not an easy child / I made mistakes, made ‘em again, but it never changed a thing for him / ‘Cause he knows who I am when I’m not sure / If I’m anything in the world I’m Daddy’s girl.

Can we collectively let out a big “AWW” on that one, y’all? I’m pretty sure that “Daddy’s Girl” is gonna be the next biggest father-daughter wedding dance song. It’s perfect.

A TRULY COMPLIMENTARY DUO

Y’all, this record is so good, I don’t think you quite understand. Not only does Laurel have one of the most gorgeous voices I’ve ever heard – with her natural treble timbre gliding through notes like a soft breeze through a wind chime – but Wes is a fantastic guitar player. There is something to be said for the player who is tasteful and can seemingly effortlessly match the guitar to the mood of the song, serving to enhance the song and never overshadow the lyrics or melody. Likewise, Wes’ vocal harmonies are equally complimentary – his soft Southern drawl and heavier tone adding some weight to the lightness of Laurel’s voice.

MAKE OLD SONGS YOUR NEW SONGS

Country music should tug at the heart strings, tell a story, and feel authentically Southern and American. With the production of Grammy-winning Mitch Dane of Sputnick Sound, a handful of talented session players, and passionate story-telling, “Old Songs” truly captures Southern life and honors the traditional sound of good ol’ fashioned country music.

THE YOUNG FABLES VINYL MOCKUP ON WOOD Modern Traditional Country “Old Songs” officially releases on March 23, 2018. You can purchase it at their e-store or on iTunes. Even better… grab a ticket to their album release party at City Winery on March 27!