Innovation and variety abound in an ambitious debut from an Appalachian duo.
The debate about what constitutes americana is a long-running one. Amongst many arguments and differences of opinion, one thing that does tend to unite is the fact that it is a very broad brush. So, having toiled endlessly over the years to agree a definition of the genre, what are we to make of a band that describes its new album as “post-americana”?
That is how Blue Twisted Steel, formed in 2020 by husband-and-wife combo Josiah and Abigail Spangler, describe their debut album Turnstile Of Romance. In their own words, it is the musical result of merging the sounds of your upbringing with the sonics of your rebellion. All clear? No? Then Josiah offers more. “Where a young person develops and grows always ends up playing a major impact on their creative work, whether you fight it off or not. Appalachia is that place for us, and it has no doubt played into some of our rootsy and americana vibes. But I remember fighting some of the music that was around us and not wanting to just be like a lot of the classic americana music I grew up hearing. So, the sound comes from pushing back on what I perceived to be the mainstream.”
The duo has engaged a number of musicians for the album, and the sound they create has, at times, an almost experimental vibe to things, never more so than on Devils In Dreams, where a wah-wah guitar adds to the psychedelic vibe on this rocker. If Josiah channels his inner Marc Bolan here, opening track Amidst The Trees features Abigail mining Bjork for all she’s worth to the accompaniment of wailing guitars.
Those early tracks may hint at an album heading in a certain direction, and comparisons made here to other musicians may also seem at odds with a description of innovation and experimentation. Let the album play out, however, and the band demonstrates a versatility and variation in styles and tone. Eternal Fire features a clean, rockabilly-fused rhythm with a repetitive riff that adds an almost playful feel to the song and, as throughout the album, Abigail’s vocals are a joy. The song plays back-to-back with Lowlight and acts as a seamless companion piece. Musically, both tracks offer up probably the two most radio-friendly tracks on the album.
The usual title track scenario is turned on its head with the track entitled Blue Twisted Steel rather than the album title. At almost seven minutes, it is a lovely, meandering, low-key number that features the husband-and-wife duo in harmony over a quiet piano-and-guitar intro before morphing into a long guitar outro. By comparison, Everything I Was And Tried To Be comes in at a little over two minutes and is a fun and unexpected slice of retro country. It is as far removed from those early rockers as it is possible to get and demonstrates to great effect the wide range of songs on offer. In an era where instant judgements seem to be the norm, Turnstile Of Romance is an album that will reward the patient.
