Cahalen Morrison has a way of channeling the otherworldly strangeness that inhabits the best of traditional folksong and finding new directions to take it in. Does this come from growing up in the high desert of Northern New Mexico? Really we have no way of telling – and how would it explain his propensity to write new songs that sit perfectly alongside recordings of songs that are hundreds of years old? Take ‘The Month of May‘ which is full of such luminous imagery delivered with Morrison’s distinctive vocal and accompanied by a banjo which blends potential joy and current sorrow in equal measures.
‘The Month of May‘ comes from the new album ‘Wealth of Sorrow‘ which is out on August 12th. ‘Wealth of Sorrow‘ was recorded in an abandoned adobe chapel in the remote village of Jaroso, on the border of New Mexico and Colorado. Cahalen’s childhood home, lies only 50 miles away as the crow flies. In the sagebrush flats at the foot of the Sangre de Christo mountains, Erick Jaskowiak set up a mobile recording rig in the old church, and they went to work. In just a day and a half they tracked the ten songs that makeup Wealth of Sorrow.
Saw him at “The Bristol folk house” last month and he was captivating. Interesting to hear you say “Wealth of sorrow” is released in August – it is available as a download from Bandcamp now. At the gig he sadly had no merch. telling the audience to tip the bar staff instead (!)
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August 12th is the Physical Media release date!
Thanks for that info. I managed to find a copy of “Flower of muscle shoals” ‘ made wth his country band COUNTRY HAMMER , also have downloads of “Old timey & new fangled” and “Wealth of sorrow”. The guy is vastly underrated.
Saw him at Transatlantic Sessions in 2020 and he’s performed at Celtic Connections since. Always a compelling performance – great musician and singer. He seems to spend a lot of time in the UK. He was good with Eli West but I prefer him solo. Wealth of Sorrow was out in 2020 as a download. Great album.