4/5: The Be Good Tanyas return with Hello Love, a contemplative, unpretentious new album that is destined to reinvigorate folk music and win over legions of new fans.
Simplicity defines the music of the Be Good Tanyas. This talented trio of women from Vancouver plays traditional covers and original folk tunes in a way that remains true to their musical roots.
Their versions of classic folk songs, from “Oh Susanna” to “Lakes of Pontchartrain,” reveal the deep humanity, longing, and cathartic playfulness that make these tunes timeless. Arrangements tend to be sparse and straightforward, letting the smooth harmonies shine through.
For my money’s worth, this group is the best group of singers around today. Each one of its members—Frazey Ford, Samantha Parton, and Trisha Klein—possess a voice that is warm, strong and a bit idiosyncratic. The resulting mix is a sound rarely heard in contemporary popular music, even its traditional folk equivalent.
The group’s third full-length effort, Hello Love, returns to the themes of daily life and its human interactions. Perhaps it is because the band has been off the road for the last few years—having babies and living as close to a “normal life” as possible for musicians—that this records feels particularly intimate and contemplative.
For example, the album’s first track, “Human Thing” establishes a slow guitar groove with a whining harmonica in the background. The lyrics are unpretentious as they explore the hazards of living and the challenges of “keeping it together.” In a subtle beauty that defines folk music, the song asks its listeners “Would you shake it like you’ve never done before?” The image invokes the unexpected joys (and their accompanying bursts of emotions) that appear in life.
Despite the album’s stripped-down nature, the musical variety that we have come to associate with the Tanyas remains. “A Thousand Tiny Pieces” and “Song for R” are gut-wrenching ballads that deal with heartache, addiction, and a general feeling of searching for something and not knowing what it is.
“Ootischenia” is an acoustic jam about motherhood and a small community in British Columbia. While “A Little Blues” is a banjo-driven, fiddle-propelled Dixieland swing. Finally, the Mississippi John Hurt’s “Nobody Cares for Me” stands out as disjointed, rickety take that reinvents one of history’s most recognizable melodies.
The album, however, is not without its surprises. The most obvious being the strangely compelling cover of Prince’s “When Doves Cry.” For anyone who has ever taken the time to listen closely to the original version, you already know that it is a surrealistic, haunting love song. Here, the Tanyas maintain that feeling, but add an unexpected spontaneity to their rendition.
Hello Love may be the Tanyas best album. At least, it is definitely their most mature. This record finds a striking balance between new and old, reinvigoration and respect. Folk music will never disappear as long as it has such devoted and talented followers to resuscitate the genre.
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