Nora Kelly Band (from the album Rodeo Clown

Nora Kelly Band (from the album Rodeo Clown

Nora Kelly Band (from the album Rodeo Clown available on Mint Records) (by Douglas DuPont)
Rodeo Clown is the debut full-length outing from Montreal Garage/Alt-Country/Cow-Punk outfit, the Nora Kelly Band. After generating organic hype around their home city with a string of singles, their first full album does not disappoint.
 
“Mmm-Delicious” starts us off with a haunting plucking, and Nora Kelly’s crooning joining shortly thereafter. At first thinking we’re in for a morose number, expectations are debunked once the rest of the band kicks in, and we’re suddenly having a raucous, boot-scootin’ time. The proceeding “Lay Down Girl” is a quick, punchy number about the need to defy societal expectations of what it means to be a woman, through a lens of past and present.
 
Third track “Catch a Bone” is the quietest ,and maybe most tender, passage on the record. It’s just Nora Kelly, a guitar, and elongated violin accompaniment, closing on a lonesome whistle. Fourth cut “Horse Girl” might be the best song here. Our narrator is pining to get away from metropolis, being beckoned by an open range. It’s tongue-in-cheek, and better for it. Half-way along on the song roster, “Heartbroken Over a Man” is another high-point on the record. It’s a strong song on its own before exploding into a wall of sound in the final portion. “Deja Vu” & “Purgatory” punctuate the second-half of the album nicely. Testament to the fact that there ain’t a single dud on Rodeo Clown. “The Purgatory Motel'' can be interpreted as an extended metaphor for the toil and turbulence that comes with being in a touring band.
 
Our title-track has an underlying nihilism, wrestling with the fact that we’re all mere mortals, and all we’ll have left to show for it after death are the objects we’ve accumulated during our time on earth. Given the legs the titular-track has, The Nora Kelly Band black-pill goes down easy. There is some serious merit to what she’s singing about. “Roswell” and “Tonka” close the album nicely and will have the listener wanting more.

Rodeo Clown is an understated and potent release in the Alt Country canon for 2023. (by Douglas DuPont)
Listen and buy the music of Nora Kelly Band from AMAZON
 
For more information, please visit Nora Kelly Band website