Allison Russell (from the album The Returner

Allison Russell (from the album The Returner

Allison Russell (from the album The Returner available on Birds of Chicago / Fantasy Records / Concord) (by Bryant Liggett)
Her accolades and influences are many. Singer/songwriter Allison Russell (Po’Girl/Birds of Chicago) is revered as seen through her nominations and wins with multiple music awards for sounds running a gamut of styles. With nothing basic about her sound, Allison Russell’s latest, The Returner, drops Blues, Folk and Roots Gospel, all delivered with a lovely and subtle Avant-garde twist.
There’s the clockwork rhythm of album opener “Springtime”, where call and response lyrics give way to a funky break while the pulsing fun of “All Without Within” is a big throwback to 1990’s R&B pop, the sound continuing into “Demons” where the vocals come layered and funky. The title track is an aching gospel cut, “Eve Was Black” a tune that’s aggressive, angry, and smart as “Stay Right Here” provides a hip, piano pulse. “Rag Child” is funky psychedelia, “Snake Life” has classical strings that tread just below heavy vocals, the vocal force softening for the closer in “Requiem”, an angelic number, somber and gentle that is ready for a Sunday mass; it is flat-out beautiful
Toss labels at this collection and you won’t get farther than Roots Gospel and Funk. That’s an accurate categorization but call this record out for its star vocals. Allison Russell has a set of big pipes that she’s stacked and layered throughout The Returner, the star instrument of the collection. (by Bryant Liggett)
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