The Canadian roots band, The Sadies, have been around since the gestating days of Americana, the late ‘90s. They were one of those vital bands on the now defunct Bloodshot label that backed such stars as a then little-known Neko Case and collaborated with the likes of Jon Langford, Garth Hudson of the Band, and John Doe of X. They have been a consistent performer also on the Yep Roc label, which brings us Colder Streams, produced by Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry. The Sadies are Mike Belitsky (drums), Sean Dean (bass), Dallas Good (vocals, guitars), and Travis Good (vocals, guitars, fiddle, banjo, mandolin).
It’s their 11th studio album and the last with co-founder Dallas Good, who unexpectedly passed in February of 2022. These tracks were recorded between 2019 and 2021 and feature guest appearances from frequent collaborator Jon Spencer (“No One’s Listening”), Michael Dubue (“End Credits”), Richard Reed Parry (“Message for Belial,” “No One’s Listening,” and “Ginger Moon’). The parents of the Goods join in as well with Margaret on backing vocals for “So Far So Few” and “All the Good” with Bruce on autoharp for the latter.
In one sense The Sadies are analogous to Los Lobos in their genre-agnostic approach, in their case from country, to rock, to bluegrass, to punk and blues, to garage rock and surf. This effort is no different – it’s the sound of The Sadies that we’ve enjoyed for over two decades now. The band and the producer are proudly calling it the best album that the band’s ever made. In a final postscript, the late Dallas Good rather sarcastically took a swipe at critics like this writer, saying among other things, “Colder Streams is by far, the best record that has ever been made by anyone. Ever.” So, hyperbole and that bit of tongue-in-cheek aside, let’s just say they are a damn good band.
Power chords introduce the hard-driving rock of “Stop and Start,” about mental illness and manic depression with the lyrics “when the sadness has won, then the madness comes.” “Message to Belial” is on a gentler Americana side, featuring terrific guitar and multiple-string work from Travis Good. The brothers sing on the spaghetti western styled “More Alone,” which given Dallas’ passing, emits a bit of an eerie quality with the lyric “I feel more alone than when I’m alone.” “So Far for So Few” has the kick of a banjo coupled with driving guitars, the perfect melding of roots music with rock, a Sadies trademark. “All the Good” goes completely acoustic, in bluegrass fashion as the parents chime in.
Jon Spencer jumps in with fuzz guitar, and together with the heavy reverb effects, gives “No One Is Listening” a psychedelic driving rock sheen as the lyrics speak to hypnotism, amid fiery guitar parts and churning rhythms. “You Should Be Worried” turns the tables once again, a folk song with one repetitive chorus – “I’m not worried about you, you should be worried about me.” The band revs it up, punk style for “Better Yet” while “Cut Up High and Dry” follows a similar route as “So Far for So Few” and “Ginger Moon” offers more frenzied punk tempos and wild intertwining guitars. Michael Dubue adds marxophone, mellotron, and other effects to the spaced-out “End Credits,” a meandering instrumental that’s a bit hard to pin down in its unsettledness.
So, we bid goodbye to Dallas Good with yet another reminder that The Sadies are and hopefully continue to be one of the great Canadian bands of the last three decades. Rock on!
