I've Missed You All These Years. Sera Calhoone

Yes, I'll admit it straight away, I've Missed You All These Years is at times far too country for me. This is really Erwin Zijleman territory. But, some of the songs on Sera Calhoone's sixth album are so beautiful that it compensates for the country part.

Don't ask me to explain why this album and not hundreds of others. I simply do not know. Just that some of the songs really get to me. Just like that Hazeldine album from the late 90s did, that I keep forgetting the name of. The one with 'Drive' on it. (Yes, I'm being lazy here.)

The fun starts for me with 'Say Something', the second song on I've Missed You All These Years. The tempo is up a little. There's an electric guitar with a nice country twang and a piano that weaves in and out of the song. Later on there's a lead guitar picking its way through the other instruments. Sera Calhoone's voice suits this song so well. So, yes, country music but with a hint at melancholy pop and a sprinkling of country rock.

Just like me this year, Sera Calhoone has gone through a rough personal period while working on I've Missed You All These Years. Lyrically, she focuses on the period after climbing out of the darkness. That is translated into the music that has a bittersweet feeling over most of the album. Introspective is another word that I will use for several of the songs.

In the meantime I am swinging between opposites with this album. One side is swinging between the individual songs, including the next level: the moment of listening in which a song falls to my good side or not. The Johnny Cash of the 1950s country rhythm on 'Horse Runnin' is easy to like but a song like opener 'High and Low' really comes with my brain being open to it. While 'Pulling Up Roots' brings me in Hazeldine territory, so point scored. That is the other opposite, my personal mood whether I'm receptive to more country-tinged songs or not.

As you can read, I'm sort of torn where I've Missed You All These Years is concerned, but not in a way that I did not want to write on the album. For that it is too nice to ignore and to not inform you about it. You will have to make up your own mind, but then, you should always do that.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order I've Missed You All These Years here:

https://seracahoone.bandcamp.com/album/ive-missed-you-all-these-years