Small Town Heroes

Here's a record that threw me for a loop: Hurray for the Riff Raff's Small Town Heroes. I saw it recommended in a magazine, but had no idea what to expect. It turns out to be a gorgeous collection of folk songs that sound as if they were written in the 1930s, but instead are all written or co-written by the group's front woman, Alynda Lee Segarra, who is of Puerto Rican descent and from the Bronx.

I like everything about this record, from the vivid cover to Segarra's voice, which reminds me a lot of Michelle Shocked's. It's in a lower register, and at times has a smoky purr, but she's not a sex kitten. Her voice is mature and unstinting in its devotion to her songs.

The first song, "Blue Ridge Mountain," sets the tone. If you told me it had been written 100 years ago I would believe it. It's accompanied by a banjo and fiddle, and one can imagine it performed at a honky tonk in Appalachia. "Crash on the Highway," which follows, is another fine song of life on the road. As with a few other songs, Segarra references New Orleans, and since it is dedicated to "the people, musicians and ghosts of New Orleans," I imagine that's where she lives.

Other highlights include "The New SF Bay Blues," which includes this lovely lyric:

"A woman's heart it's made of solid rock
And if you love her
She'll give you all she's got.
Oh buddy, that can be an awful lot."

There's a murder ballad, a folk essential, in "The Body Electric," and what may be a tribute to Levon Helm in "Levon's Dream." The title song, about love and drugs, has this lyric:

"Oh baby girl, where did you go
I threw you out where the cold wind blows
Are you in Vidalia with your no good mom
I just couldn't watch you stick in your arm.

There was a time when I was in heavily into contemporary folk, seeing a lot of live concerts at The Bottom Line and Speakeasy. This album reminds me why I like folk music so much. Segarra is a major talent. I hope she one day plays Vegas.