Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion - Bright Examples

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 25 / 8 / 2011

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Review

Some albums you just know you are going to love from the first time you hear the opening song. ‘Bright Examples’ is one of those albums. If country rock with the odd dash of 60s pop is your thing then be prepared for a treat. On one hand it could be said that we’ve heard all this before ; the sounds floating over Laurel Canyon four decades ago can be heard all over these twelve original songs but Sarah Lee (daughter of Arlo and granddaughter of Woody) and husband Johnny (grandnephew of John Steinbeck) inject enough of their own musical vision into the songs to make them sound fresh and like we are discovering this music for the first time. Some of the credit for the warm, dreamy sound ( as ‘dreamy’ seems to be the word everyone uses to describe Guthrie and Irion’s music I tried to avoid it but honestly if an album ever should be described thus it would be ‘Bright Examples’) must go to the producers, Andy Cabic(Vetiver) and Thom Monahan( Vetiver, Devendra Banhart, The Pernice Brothers) so the wistful, psychedelic sound that seeps through into these songs is no surprise really. Some heavyweight friends also appear on the album ; members of Vetiver help out instrumentally, The Jayhawks Gary Louris and Mark Olson lend their vocals and the wonderful Neal Casal ( when is that guy going to get the attention he deserves?) supplies guitar. Despite all that ‘Bright Examples’ is very much a Sarah Lee and Johnny album. Vocally Sarah Lee vaguely recalls Natalie Merchant at times, and Johnny occasionally sounds like the Neil Young no one would have a problem calling a singer. Together the two voices gel so well, despite all the country/rock influences they are not so much a Gram and Emmylou but more of a Zooey Deschanel and M.Ward (She & Him). There’s a definite pop element to these original tunes that is going to introduce this duo to a much wider audience than one would usually expect from musicians who are rooted in the country/rock genre. ‘Speed Of Light’ in particular pushes the couple well out of accepted country/rock circles although the sweet harmonies which are a part of every song here and also make an appearance on this track leave one in no doubt as to where their hearts really lie. There’s a feel-good vibe throughout this album, which reaches a peak on ‘Target On Your Heart’. The harmonies are perfect, the melody sweet and memorable and it’s like a forgotten classic from the sixties that you fell in love with years ago but had forgotten about. A perfect pop song in fact and executed superbly. ‘Bright Examples’ has seemingly come from out of nowhere to be one of the best albums of 2011 so far. Although you’ll love these songs instantly they will stay with you ; every play revealing more beauty than the last one. It’s often said now that certain albums don’t contain any filler ; at just over forty minutes there’s not a second wasted on ‘Bright Examples’ and for once you’ll wish they’d recorded more than the twelve songs out of the fifty plus songs they had stockpiled. But as it stands ‘Bright Examples’ is a perfect album. Late September sees the duo playing half a dozen dates across the UK and if live they are only half as good as they are on this album they will still be better than most other acts we see this year.

Track Listing:-

1 Ahead Of Myself
2 Never Far From My Heart
3 Speed Of Light
4 Seven Sisters
5 Target On Your Heart
6 Hurry Up And Wait
7 Dupont Circle
8 Butterflies
9 First Snow
10 Cry Quieter
11 Company I'm Keepin
12 Bright Examples