British Columbia's
Be Good Tanyas took their bluesy, north country folk to some fairly dark places on 2003's Chinatown, and while some of those shadows may have wandered into the studio during the recording of their third full-length collection Hello Love, the homespun Canadian trio seem bent on pulling the blinds up this time around and letting the world sneak back in.
Frazey Ford,
Samantha Parton and
Trish Klein harmonize like opposing weather systems, they've all got the same goods but there's a little bit of pushback going on that helps keep things dangerous. For the most part, the ladies have chosen not to stray too far from their plainclothes rootsy sound, and while that may disappoint some fans, there's enough quality stuff here to light a fire in every train yard oil drum from Vancouver to Halifax. Hello Love works best when the whole gang pipes in, and a choice cover of
Neil Young's "For the Turnstiles" delivers that effect in earnest. Tight, bluesy harmonies that are as spooky as they are lovely paint a picture of utter desolation that sounds as good turned up real damn loud as it does crackling through an old Victrola. Other covers, like fellow Canadian folkie
Sean Hayes' "A Thousand Tiny Pieces,"
Mississippi John Hurt's "Nobody Cares for Me," and a rendition of the old gospel number "What Are They Doing in Heaven Today" resonate as well, but a misplaced version of
Prince's "When Doves Cry" sticks out like a purple barn. ~ James Christopher Monger