This coming Friday, Sept. 28, musical chameleon and one-half of folk-rock duo Indigo Girls Amy Ray will release her sixth solo album, “Holler.” Recorded live at Echo Mountain Studio in Asheville, N.C., Ray’s southern spirit is as strong as ever; her first country/Americana album “Goodnight Tender” came before Trump, but now Ray combines her traditional twang and progressive mind to finally say her piece about the state of our nation.
The album starts off with “Gracie’s Dawn (Prelude),” a pacifying instrumental track that sounds like the elevator music at the Grand Ole Opry: it’s still fun to be there, but it’s not where the excitement’s happening. From there, Ray jumps straight into the deep end with the leading single on the album, “Sure Feels Good Anyway.” Being queer with deep southern roots and making a living by touring the country, Ray has faced more than her fair share of adversity in her life, particularly from her neighbors in rural northern Georgia.
Ray expresses the dissonance between her identity and the old-fashioned ideologies of the South, singing, “I know that you don’t like me / But it sure feels good anyway.” She also touches upon her conflicting political beliefs: “I’m gonna tell them boys, / ‘Don’t be a drag. Ain’t ya tired of fightin’ ‘bout the damned ol’ flag?’ Well, it ain’t Southern pride. It’s just Southern hate.” Ray brings peace and tolerance to a genre and region where it’s desperately needed, which is just one of many successes on this album.
The album continues to move along with ease; Ray has found a sweet spot within the genre, blending hints of rock, punk and bluegrass to excel at anything from a lively, toe-tapping song to a somber ballad. The next two songs, “Dadgum Down” and “Last Taxi Fare,” are somewhere in between; banjo runs from the great Alison Brown, Ray’s acoustic guitar and harmonies from singer-songwriter Lucy Wainwright Roche give “Dadgum Down” a bluegrass sound, while baritone electric guitar gives the song a punk-style growl. The star-studded “Last Taxi Fare” features harmonies from Brandi Carlile and Vince Gill, backed by an uplifting horns section and gospel undertones, over which Ray delivers the message to keep the faith even in the hardest of times. “God sends an angel / to teach you to fly / above your transgressions / fears of your life.”
Later in the title track, Ray reflects on the times where she feels uncertainty about the future but perseveres nonetheless: “I’m treading water with no sign, keeping my head just high enough to holler.” Next, Ray makes her most transparent criticisms of Trump and his supporters in her most “country” song yet, “Jesus Was A Walking Man”; she touches upon the xenophobia and ignorance that is currently reigning in this country, citing that Jesus would have done the exact opposite. “Some would build a wall and say / ‘Send them back from where they came’ / But do you know would’ve let ‘em in? / Jesus would’ve let ‘em in.”
Ray concludes the album with “Didn’t Know A Damn Thing,” where she reflects on the ignorance her white privilege has afforded her, starting with being born in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, “Bodies were hanging / bodies were burning / And my mama and daddy / They were earning / I was rockin’ the cradle / In that fertile Black Belt / They were takin’ the blows / For every toll of that liberty bell / I didn’t know a damn thing.”
You can preorder the album at CompassRecords.com, and listen to it on Spotify once it’s released. Amy Ray will be embarking on a fall tour, with more dates to be announced through the winter. Visit amy-ray.com for more details.
