Sierra Ferrell – Trail Of Flowers (2024) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Sierra Ferrell – Trail Of Flowers (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 37:35 minutes | 811 MB | Genre: Blues, Blues Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Rounder

On her second album, Trail of Flowers, Sierra Ferrell expands her sights—embracing co-writers, multiple backing vocalists and producers who have worked with country and folk legends like Gillian Welch and Brandi Carlile. The result is Ferrell’s fullest, most expansive album to date, one fit with songs sure to fill the many thousands-strong arenas that the 35-year-old will soon be gracing as an opener on Zach Bryan’s upcoming tour and a worthy successor to her 2021 debut, Long Time Coming. “Dollar Bill Bar,” the second track on Trail of Flowers, is one such moment—playful, delectably catchy and fit with backing vocals from Kristen Rogers and Nikki Lane, which adds to its anthemic charm. Though the song continues to draw inspiration from the bluegrass and mid-20th-century country traditions that Ferrell has long been inspired by, it carries the spirit of a pop song, finding catharsis in straightforward confessions and infectious melodies.

Ferrell generally prioritizes lyricism that is direct and straightforward: The largely acoustic “Lighthouse” revolves around repetitions of “could you be the lighthouse for my soul?,” while her confessions remain as candid as they are pretenseless (“I have been lonely / I have been blue”) on the closing track “No Letter.” Reading Ferrell’s lyrics, I’m often reminded of George Orwell’s six rules of writing, chief among them: Never use a long word where a short one will do, and always cut out any remotely unnecessary words.

As proof that Sierra Ferrell has been paying her dues, she opens her second album with the inevitable road song where she can’t “seem to get no rest.” She laments, “I’m losing touch with all my friends, the ones who remind me who I am/ If I could just get back home to pick up where we left off/ I’d take better care of myself, I’d stop drinking from the bottom shelf/ But my old wheels keep spinning and I cannot make them stop.” Farrell has packed a lifetime of experience and craft into the three short years since her debut, 2021’s Long Time Coming. That’s never more apparent than in her simple, tuneful ballad, “Wish You Well,” where in placid tones she sings of letting go of hurt and anger and saving herself: “I could let you rattle in the rafters of my brain/ Cry until my tears could fill the river with the rain/ But I finally found a way to break your dreadful spell/ Though you’ve hurt me, I still wish you well.”

For a different flavor, Ferrell is joined by a number of fiddlers in the dramatic and pounding “Fox Hunt” and it’s a definite success. She enthusiastically sells a nimble cover of Fiddlin’ Arthur Smith’s novelty tune, “Chittlin’ Cookin’ Time in Cheatham County,” with a growl in her voice and a swinging tempo. Produced by Eddie Spear (Lake Street Dive, Brandi Carlile, Zach Bryan) and Gary Paczosa (Allison Krauss, Dwight Yoakam, Gillian Welch), Trail of Flowers moves towards an indie rock singer-songwriter vibe, albeit one filled with connections to country and bluegrass music. While “Dollar Bill Bar” works in a pop-folk-rock direction, “Why Haven’t You Loved Me Yet” energizes a countrypolitan charm using both vibraphone and lap steel. “Lighthouse,” a mix of mountain gospel music and bluegrass, asks the question: “Could you be the one that I love so?” In addition to her increasingly sharp and focused songwriting, Ferrell’s light and spry voice is confident and right throughout, immune to awkward phrasing or misplaced passions. She fulfills the promise of her debut. – Robert Baird

Tracklist:
1-1. Sierra Ferrell – American Dreaming (04:17)
1-2. Sierra Ferrell – Dollar Bill Bar (03:29)
1-3. Sierra Ferrell – Fox Hunt (03:17)
1-4. Sierra Ferrell – Chittlin’ Cookin’ Time In Cheatham County (03:01)
1-5. Sierra Ferrell – Wish You Well (03:38)
1-6. Sierra Ferrell – Money Train (02:40)
1-7. Sierra Ferrell – I Could Drive You Crazy (03:36)
1-8. Sierra Ferrell – Why Haven’t You Loved Me Yet (02:15)
1-9. Sierra Ferrell – Rosemary (03:36)
1-10. Sierra Ferrell – Lighthouse (03:38)
1-11. Sierra Ferrell – I’ll Come Off The Mountain (01:44)
1-12. Sierra Ferrell – No Letter (02:20)

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