Michigan Rattlers 'Evergreen'

On the first anniversary of Tom Petty's untimely passing, I was pointed via social media to a debut album by the Michigan Rattlers entitled Evergreen.

This is an album that bursts out with the legacy and influence of Americana streaming through its veins; it is in touch with the land, the people who sow the land and those who have laid claim to it. Even more prevalent is that it comes out during the season of harvest, a record that is in touch with the fabric of the American landscape that is devoid of political ideology during this highly charged political contextualised period.

While a lot of records in recent months have attempted to make sense of the mess their country is in by way of the leaders they have elected, this band, albeit one relocated to a base of Los Angeles has not lost touch with its roots - featuring nods to bluegrass ('The Heat'), country ('Sirens') and original rhythm and blues.

Evergreen is an album eager to pay homage to famous musicians, it tells stories about being in love, about falling in love, the difficulty of love, wanting to tell that person that you are in love with them despite it all. You need only look at the chorus to 'Sweet Diane'

'I'll buy you y'all a beer if you want a drink.

And I'll take you anywhere you want to go.

You ain't got to call me by my name if you don't want to,

Just open up the door and we'll hit the road.'

In the same song is the little nugget, 'I think I saw you smile once tonight', this has the air of being in a roadside bar and having a moment that sticks with you forever.

The band consist of a trio which started as a duo when Graham Young (guitar) and Adam Reed (upright bass) where friends in Michigan who played together and worked bars sharing vocal duties. They created a self-titled EP which launched last year, and they added pianist Christian Wilder to give the additional honky tonk feel to the musicianship.

There is an aged humility to the compositional songwriting perhaps due to the shared upbringing of the original pairing, but there is an admiration for the love of music.

Songs do not overstay their welcome, instead they remind you of old friends who have come back to visit leaving you with a knowing smile of days gone by. Perhaps a reminder of halcyon days yes but the fondness of the past never dwindles.

Evergreen is out now on all available streaming platforms.

My thanks to Christopher Porter of Pulp, a Michigan based website for the recommendation.