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| Featured Artist Link REALLYMUSICRADIO presentsSLAID CLEAVES
"When I started writing songs for Wishbones, I was concerned with living up to Broke Down," says Cleaves, referring to the ground-breaking album that elevated the singer-songwriter from critics darling to fan favorite. "I felt like I'd finally achieved something with this dark, folk-tragedy thing I'd been attempting for several years. As soon as BBroke Down was finished, I knew the next record would have to go in a different direction."
When the time came to start working on a new record, Cleaves discussed possibilities with his long-time producer, Gurf Morlix, the former Lucinda Williams collaborator who, in recent years, has become one of Austin's hottest producers thanks to his work with Cleaves, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Mary Gauthier and many others. Terser and punchier than past work, yet still packed with the same emotional weight and clever wordplay, Wishbones proves Cleaves is a versatile artist capable of swagger as well as sensitive insight. The strong narratives and character-driven stories are filled with moments of reckoning. "Some of these songs are about people facing something difficult, like we all do from time to time," Cleaves says. "There's a certain drama in those times of your life that are turning points." "I'm so thrilled with the sound of this album," he says. "There's a moodiness to it, attitude. The instrumentation becomes more a part of the story instead of the background to the story." He wrote most of the songs while hiding out in a country cabin, away from his usual routine. "I've written each album in a different way," he says. "It seems I need to shake things up a bit to get the ideas flowing. I don't know what I'll do for my next record, but I'm sure I'll have to do something unexpected, something new, to make it work." For Cleaves, Wishbones continues the journey he embarked upon when he left his days as a counrty/rock bar singer in Maine, intent on focusing on his songwriting in the Americana capital of Austin, Texas. The city's focus on musical integrity fit Cleaves' ambition and personality, and he quickly proved himself as a worthy new resident. In 1992, Cleaves won the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival's New Folk competition - an award previously given to such striking talents as Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen and Steve Earle. By 1996, he had signed to Rounder Records and released his impressive debut, No Angel Knows, which atttracted widespread critical acclaim and announced the former Maine resident as a major new singer-songwriter. Broke Down, which followed in 2000, reached beyond the cult audience Cleaves had attracted and gave him a national following. The Austin Chronicle dubbed it "the first great Texas album of the 21st Century," while the Chicago Sun-Times noted that Cleaves "has fashioned a timeless yet fresh sound rooted in the best storytelling tradition of the great singer-songwriters." Wishbones will bring more of the same: Cleaves' audience will continue to grow while critics will rush to pile on the praise. The singer-songwriter, though, takes a more modest view. "I'm real proud of this album," he says. "Normally I hear every little flaw in my own records. But this one - I put it on and I just smile." |
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