Stefanie Keys and her San Francisco based cohorts
score again with Keys’ third consecutive barnburner of an album, Open Road. This
ten song collection hits all of its marks as a convincing slab of electric
guitar fueled Americana, but this isn’t merely some elaborate and talented
tribute act. Keys uses these time-tested forms as a vibrant vehicle for her
explorations of her own life, character studies, and ingenious re-inventions of
longtime songwriting tropes and conventions. She’s ably assisted by guitarist
and co-producer Dave Shul – his backing vocals, likewise, provides an excellent
counterpoint to Keys’ marvelous voice. Keys has endless variety. She’s quite
capable of conjuring a desperate, bluesy spirit on some songs infused, as well,
with a hard-bitten rock and roll spirit. On the album’s more delicate cuts, she
shows off her well honed sensitivity without ever allowing the track and its
lyrics to tumble head over heels into sentimentality.
You know that an artist is confident and on point
when they are willing to open their album with the title track. “Open Road”
doesn’t tread on new thematic territory for this sort of music, but Keys brings
enough of her personality and personally unique imagery to bear that it draws a
sharp distinction between this song and others of its ilk. Shul and her other
cohorts in the band deliver restrained and eminently tasteful performances
throughout all of these songs and the opener clearly announces their
intentions. It isn’t easy for a top flight musician to forgo their ego. When
you hear a group playing this tightly and serving the song first, it’s a sign
that you, as a listener, are in exceptionally good hands. That feeling
continues with the album’s second song “No Tomorrow”. Again, Keys’ songwriting
doesn’t necessarily find some revelatory new ground to cover with this
relatively familiar theme, but the singer and her band mates take the song on
with unabashed enthusiasm that makes it an enjoyable experience.
She hits another peak with the song “3 Hours Till
Yesterday”. It’s a song with a hard push on the listener and undeniable spirit
resounding from its first minute on. There’s even a lightly raucous edge that
she manifests that the band plays off of in very thrilling ways. Open Road
takes a sharp turn into the bluesy and soulful with the next song, “City Life”,
and the spark for that is one of Keys’ most exceptional vocals to date. It has
spontaneity or at least the suggestion therein, as her vocal displays
tremendous emotion like she’s engaging it in live performance for the first
time during recording. “Amos Cain” has plenty of corresponding antecedents in
popular music, story songs about a particular character, but none are quite
like this. Keys shows some genuine literary flair with this composition and the
band provides her with exceptional backing.
Open Road marks a new high water mark for Keys and
her songwriting. There’s an abundance of accessible songwriting here while
there’s an equal amount of material that plumbs much deeper and shows a
fearlessness that defines all great songwriting. Stefanie Keys has left her
mark, but she isn’t done yet. This exceptional performer and writer continues
to grow and her latest effort marks the next inevitable stage in her
development.
9 out of 10 stars.
Michael Saulman
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