Captivating country music from the California wilderness.
More than most, the cover of the new album by Desiree Cannon ‘Radio Heat’, with its drawings of birds, fish and insects on a background of the stars, gives a signal as to the sense of the record. It’s mystical, with a strong connection to Mother Nature and the wonders of the universe. There is no surprise in learning that the heart of it was recorded to tape in the isolated times of 2020/21 on a remote hilltop in Big Sur, a rugged and mountainous region near the coast of California. Listening to Desiree Cannon’s words, it is not hard to imagine inspiration coming to her as she looked up at the stars out in the wilderness.
This is her second album after 2018’s ‘Beach Sleeper’ and was produced by Cannon and Sam Doores from The Deslondes, who also contributes drums, keys, guitar and vocals. Musically, it is very strong with songs that grow on you with repeated listens, with memorable chorus lines and melodies. It’s country music but in a variety of styles and tempos with Cannon’s beautiful vocals underpinning it all.
The first two tracks, ‘Radio Heat’ and ‘Fault Line’ are, like a number of others, both low-key with a loping beat and soaring pedal steel. However tracks such as ‘Tower’ and ‘Baby’ which follow them are more upbeat and catchy. Both of these have a Motown feel in both Cannon’s singing and in the female backing vocals with ‘Baby’ having spoken vocals similar to those found on some Motown tracks. The unusual combination of country and Motown works very well here – who’d have thought it?
Lyrically, it is very poetic, which at times creates some powerful imagery. ‘Chimes’ starts with heavy rain hitting wind chimes: “Gravity strings that water from the sky”. From this beginning, the song mentions Cannon’s solitude “Don’t love the solitude but I often am” but it is then difficult, as it is in on some other tracks, to discern exactly the meaning of her words. There is a sense throughout of sadness, regret and longing with Cannon herself saying that the album “transmutes pain- in its many guises- into song”. However, her intent is a hopeful one: “(the album) is ultimately a soundtrack for the present day, looking towards a future where grief is shed and beauty abounds”.
Mixed in with the above are words about the night sky: “From star to star/ Out in space/ There’s years of light between“ and the animal kingdom: “Crossing all of these borderlines/ Fish are flying/ Birds are diving in time” with you getting a strong sense of Cannon’s connection to nature. It’s not unlike some of the words from The Handsome Family and indeed the slightly Gothic ‘Latigo’ reminds you of them musically.
The captivating and atmospheric music here, which captures so well the feeling of being in the solitude of the California wilderness, makes this album very well worth a listen.
