The backstory to
Ali Beletic's debut LP goes something like this: Installation artist moves from New York City to the desert Southwest and finds musical inspiration in the area's nature and mythology. Of course, the reality is much more complex, but this synopsis does capture the mystic and free-spirited character of
Legends of These Lands Left to Live, an album that came together over the course of several years.
Beletic's longtime partner Seth Olinsky (
Akron/Family) is a major figure in the story, having also co-produced and co-engineered the record. Our heroine, though, is
Beletic, who opens the album with a bluesy guitar riff that not only introduces her musical persona, but also turns out to be pretty much the entire musical substance of "Ends of the Earth," a love letter to their adventures. The album as a whole is a gritty, instinctive sort of work without a lot of structured songwriting or, for that matter, chords. Lyrics, mettle, and dusty atmosphere are its nuts and bolts. Outright rock songs here include "Dead Serious" and the anthemic "Stone Fox" on a set list otherwise made up of mostly what could be called guitar poems. Songs like "Lit Museum" and "Brilliant White Heat" fall somewhere in between. In addition to
Beletic's husky half-whisper, the latter features rhythmic pitch-bending that summons images of heat haze. A bass drum keeps steady time and suggests plodding toward the mirage. This kind of imagery, both lyrical and musical, pervades the record and proves to be its most memorable quality. Like a song that you could have sworn was in a Tarantino or
David Lynch film, this one's for the open road. ~ Marcy Donelson