A.J.H. Hayes
– Raw Opus (Independent)
Arvel Joseph Harrison Hayes is a young singer-songwriter from
somewhere in the middle of Oklahoma, with a folk heavy Americana style that
sounds old and primeval, created almost from the dustbowl myths and legends
that originate from his home state. Of course, those old storytelling folk
singers who travelled the highways and byways were notoriously difficult to
capture on tape, and all that really remain are a few 78s and the collections
put together by collectors like Harry Smith, and usually financed by museums.
Hayes somehow finds a direct source from those old recordings. The
sound he captures is obviously lo–fi, but it’s a special kind of lo-fi that
harks back to backroom shack, single-mic recordings from the 1930s rather than
digital bedroom adventures. His songs seep hardship and desperate times, and
although he’s only as ‘authentic’ as one’s imagination allows, it feels a small
step back to the past. To be honest it’s near impossible to choose one or two
standout songs. Not because the material is average, but because listening to
Raw Opus is something that should be experienced as a whole rather than broken
down into three-minute sections.
It’s pretty much a solo recording, though Chelsey Phifer steps up
to the plate on ‘Beautiful Chaos’ – not unlike discovering a fantastic old
Freakwater demo – and Dano Powell provides a little mouth harp.
Rollo
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