January 26 2024
We welcome back an old friend, Jeff Talmadge, who we haven’t heard from in over a decade. The storytelling, finger-picking guitarist was quite prolific in the early part of this millennium and while mostly under the radar here in the states, amassed a significant following in Europe. With its typically spare acoustics, and Talmadge’s half-sung, half-spoken songs Sparrow is in the vein of the great Texas singer-songwriters and while we’re not putting Talmadge in the same conversation as Guy Clark, the tone and mood of the record evokes a similar vibe. While the soft, well-mixed sonics and Talmadge’s voice are easy on the ears, they belie the underlying tension in so many of these songs. Also, there’s a clear symmetry and a common thread to these ten songs, based on the protagonist’s need to escape his current fate. The use of wind and storms graces at least half of these tunes as Talmadge paints stark imagery of loneliness through his lyrics. These economical and eclectic arrangements supported by Austin guitarist Bradley Kopp and multi-instrumentalist J. David Leonard, who co-produced with Talmadge, are often brilliant touches. Take for example the rolling drums, slide guitar, and keys signaling the onset of a storm in the title track. These instrumental elements, though never intrusive, are in fact quite varied as percussion includes cajon, djembe, kick drum to cardboard box and electric guitar, synths, piano, dobro, slide guitar, midi strings, and a few harmony vocals all factor into the mix.
The central track is the opener, “Hurricane” which forms the thematic and metaphorical thread to these songs. Here, the narrator ignores the evacuation warnings and decides to stay put, as the synching line “And sometimes you just have to choose/What you’re willing to keep and what/you’re willing to lose” is the character’s rather fatalistic hope that the storm will wash away not only the physical but the sins and missteps along the way. He’s made the clear choice to go it alone. The title track is finger picked in open tuning as this narrator reflects on a past love, and the mistakes made in youth, concluding that despite all, he’d “do it all again.” “Devil’s Highway” is a third person narrative of one heading down the destructive path with several impactful lines – “Now he lives along and he’s down on his luck/Life came at him like a semi-truck/He looks in the mirror doesn’t know the man/With the Halloween eyes and the midnight tan.” “Forgiveness” is a provocative tune that in an indirect way, answers the previous songs with an “if only” notion. “Katie’s Got A Locket” is yet another sad remembrance tune from the female point of view.
Talmadge grows even darker, revealing his European influence in “The Night Train from Milan” where “everybody’s traveling alone” as the narrator is obsessed with a search for elusive, and mythical Maddalena. A similarly dark cloud looms in “The Sound of Falling Snow,” where Talmadge casts a couple, no longer able to share any sort of convivial conversation, left to recall only the small details of late-night imagery in a desolate town. “Little Speck of Dust” is the bookend to “Hurricane,” that reminds the narrator that acting on impulse isn’t always wise - “Do you build the place back up or do you knock it down/The choice is not as easy as it seems.” While we’ve come full circle in one sense, Talmadge leaves us with the gorgeous imagery of mountains painted in white and the hopes that will come in “Maybe Next Year,” with gorgeous harmonies from Jaime Michaels, hits the totally relatable aspect of procrastination but in a lighthearted way leading to the upbeat closer of dueling acoustic guitars in the instrumental “Top of the Hour.”
Talmadge is a poet with few peers, embracing these dark tales but delivering plenty of provocative thoughts in the process. His co-producers, Kopp and Leonard frame his songs and fingerpicking stylings beautifully with their clever touches.
Jim Hynes is an independent contributor on music for several magazines, including Elmore and Country Standard Time. He has also written for Variety. He was a listener-supported public station(s) radio host for 25 years in CT, MI, NJ and PA. He is also a Live music host/Emcee at several national and regional venues.
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