After releasing 5 previous albums to widespread acclaim, Michelle Malone is releasing her 6th album this summer- all the ripe old age of 29. A long-time fixture of the Atlanta folk music scene, Malone graduated from her previous spot on Amy Ray's (Indigo Girls) Daemon Records and moved on to Velvel Records with her stirring new release Beneath The Devil Moon.
The songs that comprise Moon sound like they were drawn at random out of a hat. They range from straight-forward rockers ("Grace", "In the Weeds") to airy flamenco jazz ("Edge") to pseudo-R&B ("Dimming Soul"). Even though the styles of the songs shift dramatically from track to track, they more or less hold up as an entire body of work. The melodies and harmonies are ear-catching without being too overwhelming.
The album was co-produced by Malone and David Ryan Harris, who formerly played guitar with Follow For Now and Dionne Farris. According to Harris, "What I brought to the project was keeping the production based around guitar and layering different textures, instead of ending up with loud, monochromatic guitars." Harris' influence is loud in its own way, as the guitars indeed are layered as thick as a baklava.
Relying on the obvious strength of her vocals to carry past albums, Malone now has a more mature approach to her vocals that matches the direction Harris took to the guitars. On the first track ("Grace") Malone starts singing at a whisper, sounding like Lori Carson, before the song builds into a pounding mass. Malone's vocals have a definite flexibility and familiarity. She sounds a lot like Sheryl Crow throughout the album, but without Crow's radio-friendly sugar coating.
After going through two backing bands (Drag the River and Band de Soleil), Malone is able to showcase her deft guitar touch here thanks to the stripped down production. Drummers Melvin Watson, Jr. and Danny Bigay alternate, and Mike Snowden and Chris Wilson tag in and out on the bass.
Malone cites jazz, blues, gospel, and rock as her influences, and they combine to form a work that at times is transcendent, and, at times redundant. In general though, this is a very good release.
