—Bordeaux (Una Muerte)
ALBUM REVIEW - “The Valley In Autumn” by Tent City
Tent City’s debut album is a striking one. Here we have a band that takes influences from a World and Folk stage, integrates some Pop-like structures and backs it with some wistful, melancholy singing. “The Valley In Autumn” could be best described as a Gypsy record, with strong instrumentation resembling many elements from Eastern Europe. Fairly similar to the likes of Beirut, A Hawk and a Hacksaw or Devotchka, Accordion notes, plucky Strings and Spanish guitars grace this album in a calm, reserved fashion that give it a warm, exuberant touch.
The seven piece Salem band is on Blueberry Hill Records with Chris Ward at the helm of the project. The songs on the album blend a couple of world styles, particularly closer to Spanish style songs with Eastern European instrumentation going back in forth. Songs like Ischia, Antigua, Del Sole and Irun are the best examples of this. Then you have a few songs that are a bit more vibrant and colorful like El Verano and Bordeaux (Una Muerte) that favor more of that Spanish aspect of the album and ties the whole thing pretty cohesively. The only trepidation I have with this album is that lack of variety between songs. I don’t really have anything against any one particular part of the album but there were times where I felt that I was just listening to the same song in places. Aside from that, there were a few highlights for me that i enjoyed particularly Ischia, Bordeaux (Una Muerte) and El Verano. You could almost drop on any one track and get a good feel for the band overall.
If you’re looking for a great sounding record, if you’re into acts like Beirut or Devotchka or any Gypsy Folk record, or even in the market for a great local listen, give Tent City a whirl and see if it works for you.
