Blues flavours to fine acoustic country/Americana from West Coast US duo Smith and Tegio.
Duo Smith and Tegio are long-established songwriting and performing partners Austin Smith and Mark Tegio, based respectively in Santa Cruz CA, and Portland Oregon. On this, their second release, they share lead vocals, and demonstrate the varied influences informing their musical offer.
Opening track ‘Hell Raising Habit’ features reverb heavy blues harp from Smith over picked acoustic guitar, before the full band with pedal steel kicks in, with lead vocals from Tegio and a fresh take on the heavy drinking/partying theme “Got an empty wallet, Lord I just can’t buy no dreams/ Got a big ol’ bed, that ain’t ever seen a night of sleep/ I should just go on home, ’cause I always wish I did/ Instead of running ’round town trying to find every kind of trouble there is.”
Continuing the blues influence, ‘Rapid City Nights’ opens with harmonica and acoustic guitar over a shuffle beat, morphing into a classic ‘life on the road’ country rocker, with subtle work on B3 organ from Jamie Coffis.
Completing the line-up are Henry Chadwick on drums, and Ian Taylor Sutton on pedal steel guitar, with bass duties shared between Alec La Roche, Andrew Dreher, and Aiden Collins. Further support comes from Tim Kelso on banjo, Owen Ragland on fiddle, Payton Vermeesch on electric guitars, and with Ezza Rose on backup vocal duet on ‘Same Old Waltz’, likening the endless round and round of the waltz to a relationship “So come on and break my heart and I’ll break yours/ Honey don’t you worry that’s what whisky is for/ It seems like a little heartache is just what we need/ Well with the way we’ve been acting what else could it be”, a straight down the line country ballad with haunting pedal steel prominent.
‘Turn Me Loose’ continues the country vibe, mid-tempo, with fine finger-picked acoustic guitar and pedal steel.
Title track ‘Can’t Stay Here’ is a rollicking up-tempo number, with a ‘runaway train’ feel fuelled by energetic fiddle and chugging harmonica, with ‘Fools’ having a similar feel-good vibe—both numbers have the feel of having been honed through live shows.
Album closer ‘At The Table (Revisited)’ features Kelso on banjo, and Ragland on fiddle, before a lengthy outro with psychedelic leanings, featuring Smith’s distorted harmonica. The record is a fine blend of country and roots/folk with hints of the blues.
