Music Review: The Montvales, ‘Born Strangers’
The Cincinnati-via-Knoxville duo employs a captivating modern sound crafted from old-time influences to explore serious societal issues.
The Montvales’ Born Strangers album artwork. Photography: Suzi Kern.
Harmony is fascinating. When two or more people sing together, their vocals can work together or play off each other in so many different ways. One of the most intriguing effects is when two voices sometimes create friction with one another as they intertwine, and at other times meld as seamlessly as if they were one. Longtime friends and collaborators Sally Buice and Molly Rochelson, who together make up The Montvales, have that kind of shifting, magical vocal chemistry. They use it to maximum effect on Born Strangers, their new album that dropped Friday, February 2.
This isn’t a showy album, but it’s a deeply impressive one. Often mellow, it never drags; Buice and Rochelson (born and raised in Knoxville, now Cincinnati-based) are fond of a midtempo pace that feels livelier thanks to expressive finger picking on the banjo and guitar. Old time instrumental arrangements are applied to more modern-sounding melodies and lyrics—reminiscent of late 1990s music from folk acts like Indigo Girls and The Nields.
Not every song on the album is an acoustic string-band affair. In this follow-up to 2019’s Heartbreak Summer Camp, The Montvales branch out musically, thanks in part to producer Mike Eli LoPinto (guitarist for Chris Stapleton and co-writer and producer of Emily Nenni’s “On the Ranch”). There’s percussion; there’s pedal steel; “Say the Word” even features snarling electric guitar.
I deeply appreciate message-driven music that doesn’t hit you over the head with its message but rather lures you in with listenability, letting the impact of the lyrics build subtly. Born Strangers is a masterclass in this technique. The first track, “Woman of God,” lets you know this won’t be an empty-headed affair or a collection of well-trodden cliches. The song ponders how to find meaning in life, using clever wordplay about the nature and source of power—religion, electricity, unions, the land. There are no easy answers to the questions raised, but there is steely determination to keep looking: “I’m gonna make somethin’ good from this even if it’s the death of me.”
The Montvales. Photo credit: Suzi Kern.
“Empty Bedrooms” brings in pedal steel, keys and drums to create a classic country backdrop to a tune about the mixed-bag experience of ending an imperfect relationship. Using the shared house as both a physical setting and a metaphor for the relationship (“you know some things aren’t worth pretty views”), the track captures the feeling of freedom in leaving, but also the way the past sticks around (“I no longer know where you are but you’re often in my thoughts”).
One of the hardest-hitting songs, “Bad Faith,” explores the issue of reproductive rights (or the lack thereof) in Tennessee. From legislation to billboards to peer pressure, the track skillfully addresses a wide range of the double standards society imposes on women (especially teenagers). The chorus sums up the combined oppressiveness of all these external influences: “It’s a bad faith deal that they made you, honey / Gonna set you up just to knock you down.”
Musically outstanding and lyrically opaque, “Ghost Show” starts with an easy, toe-tapping rhythm that belies its world-weary verses about struggles and disappointments so universal, they could apply to interpersonal relationships, political situations or natural disasters. The track takes some unexpected rhythmic and instrumental twists and turns, building in intensity and pulling back repeatedly, the chorus protesting: “What a time to strike up the band / As if anybody has the energy left to dance,” and “I was told it was all under control, I was led to believe we’d just ride off into the sunset, and the credits would roll.”
Every one of the 12 songs on Born Strangers manages to sound distinct while contributing to an effortlessly cohesive feel. The Montvales have created a gorgeous, thoughtful album that contains enough unique instrumental elements and intriguing lyrics to yield more meaning and enjoyment from every replay.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carol Roth. Photo credit: Dan Lee.
Carol Roth is the primary writer, social media manager, podcast producer and event-calendar updater for Adventures in Americana. By day she’s a marketing writer/brand strategist. In addition to playing guitar and songwriting, she writes self-proclaimed “trashy” novels under the pseudonym T.A. Berkeley.
