'Pigeon and the Crow' is Nels Andrews' fourth studio album, a rich tapestry of sound dripping in potent natural imagery. Americana in its purest form. Fiction or fact, there’s a strong sense of storytelling, of reflective self-disappointment, then maturity and garnering of wisdom into self-acceptance. You can't undo what's done or change the past.
Nels Andrews’ lyrics take us from the West Coast to the East, into desert-scapes, sea-scapes and beyond. He skillfully combines the supernatural, the natural, the beautiful, the wistful, with a subtle sense of magic and mystery. It has a slightly psychedelic lingering nod to the sixties and the era of alternative, artistic living; a kind of ‘On The Road’ Nels Andrews style.
‘Pigeon and the Crow’ has insight, the gift of being able to see into the nature of things, to observe from a distance while being immersed in the moment. At first, I struggled a little with what felt like a complexity I couldn’t quite grasp but reading the lyric booklet helped with that.
Andrews’ voice is slightly grainy like that desert sand blew in and stuck there at the back of the throat. It’s subtle, as are the harmonies. The musicianship is exemplary. Nels Andrews has garnered together peers that reflect his respect among that artistic community.
The bones of ‘Pigeon and the Crow’ were knit during a three-day marathon live tracking session at Whispering Pines studio in Los Angeles (once owned by Sam Cooke, later reclaimed by Lord Huron). Andrews slept on the studio floor and dreamed in Technicolor as if the vibes were seeping up through the floor. No wonder the lyrics are steeped in such fluid metaphors.
The record is produced by Irish traditional flautist Nuala Kennedy. Andrews co-wrote two songs (‘Pigeon and the Crow’ and ‘Welterweight’) with longtime collaborator AJ Roach. With a list of credits the length of the arm, too detailed to cover here, know that this album features artists who have worked with the likes of The Lumineers, Laura Marling, Iron and Wine – and you’ll get the feel for this album.
The title track, in particular, warrants closer inspection. Described as a “modern supernatural ballad”, it’s based on a story some of us may be familiar with. That of a young girl who fed the crows as a child, and each day they’d bring her a little shiny gift. Her mother collated these. Later, Andrews, inspired by this shape-shifting story between a human child and a crow, turned it into a graphic novella, with added flexi-disc recording, thereby creating a magical imaginary world where the natural world converges with reality.
A tour of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom was scheduled but COVID-19 may have turned those plans upside down. The upside of the Coronavirus pandemic is that no one says you can’t listen to music. So, if you’re in self-isolation or social distancing, lend your ears to new music until the storm passes. You could do worse than to start with Nels Andrews.