Even though the band Richmond Fontaine calls Portland, Oregon home, their music oozes with the flavors and sounds of the Southwest. Listening to their latest album, Thirteen Cities, I can picture the lingering desert smog over Phoenix or Albuquerque coloring the sunset deep shades of orange and red. That is due in part to the fantastically descriptive and real lyrics of front man Willy Vlautin who (in addition to the band) just published his first novel The Motel Life which is being compared to the writing of Steinbeck and Carver.
Lyrically, Thirteen Cities is a generally sad record that (when combined with the lonely alt-country music that accompanies it) weaves tales about downtrodden Southwestern cities and personal woe. Vlautin sings in a plaintive and conversational voice about the clash between the desert and the continuing suburban sprawl and the hell it has become for the lower working class. It isn’t a call to arms but it is definitely a condemnation.
Imagine the sound of steel guitar brushing up alongside mariachi-esqe horns as the wind blows sand and sage brush in the other direction. Its like being abandoned in the desert alone (with only your 1987 Ford F150 as refuge from the stifling heat). Thirteen Cities is due out stateside in May. RIYL: Old 97’s, AM-era Wilco, etc…
MP3 | Richmond Fontaine – $87 And A Guilty Conscience… Thirteen Cities
MP3 | Richmond Fontaine – Capsized Thirteen Cities
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