Sabine McCalla – Don’t Call Me Baby (Gar Hole) (13th Floor Album Review)
Sabine McCalla released her debut album Don’t Call Me Baby last week. Released on the independent US label Gar Hole Records, the LP is a remarkable statement of multi-genre American roots music.
Following on from her debut EP Folk, Sabine McCalla has pulled out all the stops on her debut album. It’s a very satisfying nine song record. She’s surrounded herself with a killer New Orleans formed backing band. Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys has even helped her pen a few tunes too. Labelmates The Lostines join in for the finale Lovely Lonely.
McCalla claims to have made a modern album that is inspired by long-forgotten divas from the pre- or post-war era. And from the first notes of the opener Sunshine Kisses, it’s quite hard to put your finger on exactly what genre you would classify this under. There’s an Americana theme with titles like Tall Lonesome Cowboy and Louisiana Hound Dog. But it’s folky. And you can hear samba, rock n’ roll and jazz amongst this incredibly soulful result.
The instrumentation is top-notch. There are some busy things happening on this. But despite numerous cool undertakings happening in the background, no one has tried to overshadow the catchy vocal performance. Oh! And there’s jazz flute on there too, I’m always a sucker for that.
I liken my experience of listening to this album to being pulled out of the house by friends on a Friday night. It’s cold, and I’d rather stay at home and watch the rugby on the couch. They’re insistent. I give in (because I’m like that), and I am dragged into a bar with small tables lit by candlelight amongst the sea of darkness. My friends order costly cocktails, and I am horrified that the only beer on the menu is well above market price. The stage lights up, a band starts and a soulful voice commands attention. Suddenly, the extortionate Italian lager is the least of my concerns. Now, I’m the guy leading the applause after each song instead of awkwardly drinking a pint at the back of the room like I normally do in the dirty music venues I frequent.
Warmth is a theme that stood out for me on this debut. Everything makes you feel like you’re sitting in front of a hot fire. The bass guitar has an earthy and warm tone. A mellotron is ever present across the LP. There’s the rotary speaker guitar on a few tracks à la the last two Beatles albums. And, of course, Sabine McCalla’s vocals are nothing but inviting.
It was about Deep River where I exclaimed out loud how impressed I was by her singing. She has a beautiful voice. It is padded out well with harmonies at times for excellent effect (Sunshine Kisses being an excellent example). As I explained earlier, she is going for the diva-of-yesteryear-sound. But, when she really exposes her range for the audience, the results are ensnaring.
Now, just in case you haven’t yet inferred my thoughts on this one, I really, really enjoyed this album. However, a reviewer has to critique. So, critique I shall do. McCalla’s lyrics are hardly groundbreaking. There are many lines and phrases which reek of cliché. And, with an album titled Don’t Call Me Baby, I was not at all surprised. Apart from an interesting narrative in I Went to the Levee, don’t expect anything particularly poetic. I am sure that the lack of depth lyrical depth is a purposeful choice to match the tone she is going for. But there were the odd moments where I became a little nonchalant. I also felt the use of the line ‘Please please me’ in Lovely Lonely was a bit much. At least she didn’t follow up with ‘Oh yeah!’
Don’t Call Me Baby really was a highlight for me. Sabine McCalla has written a variety of catchy melodies and performed them beautifully. The warm tone and good vibes of the album really brightened up my day and I am hopeful it will do the same for you.
Daniel Edmonds
Don’t Call Me Baby is out now via Gar Hole Records.
