Friends in High Places is almost assuredly the only Americana record coming out this year that takes just as much from the French indie-minimalist sound as it does from folk or country. The sound on the latest LP from Turner Cody and his band the Soldiers of Love is due in part to a prolific collaboration between the bandmates and Belgium producer/musician Nicolas Michaux. They all met four years ago on tour in Canada and have been collaborating off and on since. Michaux produced this latest effort, putting an emphasis on a more minimalist sound. The result is a solid, if at times repetitive collection.
“Boozing And Losing,” opens the set and offers a perfect prelude to what follows; slow-tempo-ed country/folk adjacent tunes delivered in no hurry. It’s a satisfying formula for the most part but starts to sound a little too familiar after 10 tracks. The album opener is easily one of the strongest tracks here. Certainly not a novice to the music world having put out 14 albums, Cody got his start in New York’s anti-folk scene collaborating with everyone from The Moldy Peaches to Jeffrey Lewis. There is even a tribute album in his honor: Songs Of Turner Cody. And while his voice is unmistakably the same on this album, the stripped-down nature of the arrangements marks a new path for Cody.
Theme-wise he and the band tackle some well-tread paths: love, nostalgia and coping in a modern world, but manage to do so with originality. But he also throws in a few character-driven songs as well, like on the dramatically brilliant song “Mr. Wrong,” (“I’m underneath the buzzards circling the sun/In the footsteps of an outlaw on the run”). Though the music has changed a bit from his previous records, his lyrics are still solidly anchored in his familiar influences of Townes Van Zandt and Woody Guthrie.
Photo credit: Charles Paulicevich
