Welcome to CalTimes’s Album of the Week series! We will review our favorite albums and artists, old and new, across all genres. If you have any suggestions, please email us!
Gregory Alan Isakov is one of the best modern folk singers making music. His music is known for its earthy tones and slow lyricism that tells a lullaby; with a banjo or guitar accompaniment, he tells intricate, gentle stories that usually involve vivid natural imagery. This makes sense, with his greatest inspirations being author John Steinbeck and legendary folk musician Greg Brown.
Gregory has been around for a long time, almost twenty years to be exact, with his first album releases being “Songs for October” in 2004 and “That Sea, The Gambler” in 2006, whose music has been included in multiple films. However, his most popular albums would have to be “The Weatherman” and “This Empty Northern Hemisphere,” which have hit songs that are still trending. “Amsterdam” and “Big Black Car” are his most successful streamed songs.
His newest album, “Appaloosa Bones,” follows a similar folk feel but gives imagery reminding you of a deep Appalachian feel. The album’s title reflects on the imagery and where “Appaloosa bones” is usually said in the rodeo world, and it means to be tough and persevering. The album gives this melancholy feel of winter, where I think Gregory wants us to embrace the cold to show there is still meaning in the harshness of winter, and our preservation shows we are strong.
A few songs, particularly, have caught my attention the most, and I consider them my favorites.
Track 10, “Sweet Heat Lightning,” is a powerful song that focuses on the journey of growing up; he sings about the fictional world you have as a child where you are scared of “monsters” but also compares this to the real adult world where he wishes to go back into the small fears he once had as a child realizing the concern in the adult world are more overwhelming than “monsters under your bed.” He recognizes that he took for granted the time he had growing up, realizing how fast it was like “Sweet Heat Lighting,” a sudden old flash in his memory now.
Track 3, “Appaloosa Bones,” the self-title of the album, which goes more profound in the title meaning, talks about how Gregory felt drastically lost and broken until he met this unnamed person whom he thanked for finding him before it was too late. Its profound message focuses on the fact that during stressful times in one’s life, it is essential to recognize the people who help you through whatever you struggle, and it is an ode to those who pick you up when you are down.
Track 1, “The Fall,” is another powerful song that dives deeper into the mental turmoil people have, and Gregory focuses on how it feels when other people see you in this stage of depression or where he describes it as “The Fall.” He focuses on people’s mental state during this time, which feels so slow that you don’t notice people around you and never recognize anyone else. However, you eventually feel that the people in your life see how you think, and it feels like everyone is staring at you and wanting you to get up from your state. Still, Gregory ends by recognizing that everyone feels this breaking feeling to give validity to his emotions.
Rating: 7/10
Gregory’s powerful lyricism and instruments offer a deep emotional connection to this album, giving listeners honest reflections on their lives. Each track gives me a powerful message, providing this winter feeling with vivid imagery. The main thing I was not a fan of was that the album felt somewhat repetitive, and some songs did not stand out to me as much. I prefer a few of his other albums, but it is a solid project that keeps me relistening during this winter.
Gregory is touring this spring and coming to Pittsburgh on March 26th at the Stage AE venue, which should be a fun night if you enjoy his music, and folk music is always better live.
