Lori Paul and Spiderlodge have really done it this time.I just had a tremendous time listening to Mighty Fine Time, the Chilliwack trio's latest recording.
They've put together six tunes for the CD displaying a sleek musicality with chops galore, ranging from folk, to country, blues and roots.
There's a fresh and retro feel to it at the same time. Lori pulls you in with her adept storytelling and beating creative heart, as does Rick Genge with his fine guitar work and impressive multi-instrumental offerings, and Clay Thornton's steady rhythms.
The bluesy, and mysterious number '.30-06' is one of my favourites. "The river has worn the mountain down to beds of silt and stone." Evocative images of silty rivers telling no tales, but handfuls of sand carrying "little itty bitty bits of bone." Hello, boss!
She's clearly learned a thing or two about love, loss and redemption. "My friend you can’t outrun your family history "I can never trust myself, to be the judge of someone else
"How I made it fifty years is a goddamn mystery."
The wistful 'Wish for You' also tugs at the heartstrings, "Some things in life we just never get over, there's no consolation, no such thing as closure. "You learn this late if you live to grow older and that is my wish for you, sweet darlin' that is my wish for you." And finally I love the fact that Lori put a 1943 portrait of her musically inclined and smiling great uncle Dick Kehler on the CD cover for the art work.
A ways into the tunage, you realize you want to be one of those people you're hearing about in the songs, running over winter lawns to see the northern stars, and living in the country and walking through the fields like Lori and the guys.
"Thank you for the fish it was truly delicious."
There's a comfortable Canadiana poking through, and Lori's finely honed lyrics are well worth actually reading (check them out at spiderlodge.com).