CD Review – Susie Glaze and The Hilonesome Band “White Swan”
From the earthy opening fiddle strains on White Swan to the final song’s sweet homage to Appalachian singer-songwriter Jean Ritchie, it’s clear this is not an album to listen to once and put away. Susie Glaze and The Hilonesome Band have made an album that is a ride through a wide range of Americana meadows and valleys. From skilled instrumentation bluegrass jams, Appalachian vocals, sweet high lonesome harmonies and old-time folk influences, White Swan sings with the richness of a tapestry of American music that weaves together each genre through song-craft, clear production and authentic performance in such a seamless way, it feels like we’re hearing just one genre; great American music. Glaze and company, including her husband/arranger, Steve Rankin and songwriter, Rob Carlson, have accomplished a rare thing for a form of music, which too often attempts to cross genres and sometimes looses the essence of any particular form. Rather, they have crafted an album of songs that honors these diverse origins while gently allowing the arrangements, instrumentation and performances to enhance the songs in subtle ways that raises them to a new level, realizing each track’s potential in a new and original way.