{"id":24601,"date":"2023-02-03T05:30:26","date_gmt":"2023-02-03T10:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=24601"},"modified":"2022-12-21T11:39:34","modified_gmt":"2022-12-21T16:39:34","slug":"album-review-the-shoe-birds-southern-fables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/03\/album-review-the-shoe-birds-southern-fables\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: The Shoe Birds \u2013 Southern Fables"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-24602\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/shoe_birds_southern_fables.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/shoe_birds_southern_fables.jpg 350w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/shoe_birds_southern_fables-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/shoe_birds_southern_fables-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/>It\u2019s unusual \u2013 and unexpected \u2013 to receive a CD with an accompanying press sheet describing that album as the artist\u2019s final release. But that\u2019s the case with <i>Southern <\/i><i>F<\/i><i>ables<\/i>, the fifth album from Memphis-based group The Shoe Birds. The band\u2019s lead vocalist Norman Adcox passed away unexpectedly days after the sessions were completed. But Adcox\u2019s final years had been creatively fruitful ones, co-writing songs with band co-founder Scott Coopwood.<\/p>\n<p>As it happens, though, the music on <i>Southern Fables<\/i> doesn\u2019t have its roots in Adcox\u2019s last couple of years. Instead, the album (I\u2019d characterize the seven-song collection as an EP, but let\u2019s not quibble) features songs the group started work on in 1985. The finished album is a mix of old tapes and more recent overdubs, all completed before Adcox\u2019s passing. But listening to the songs, there\u2019s very little about them that suggests vintage recordings. There\u2019s a vaguely college-rock character to songs like \u201cStraight Line,\u201d but the songwriting and arrangement is reminiscent of Gin Blossoms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStraight Line\u201d is a bit short on lyrics, but its melody is compelling. \u201cBring it Home\u201d has a loose and friendly campfire vibe that emphasizes its heartfelt character. \u201cChange\u201d is subtle and catchy with some lovely, relaxed vocal harmonies. \u201cLooking at You\u201d has a vaguely R.E.M. feel. The sonics of \u201cMr. Peterson\u201d suggest its origins as a demo, but its chiming guitar and atmospheric arrangement add up to the disc\u2019s best track. And a guitar solo \u2013 something that doesn\u2019t always figure prominently in Shoe Birds tracks \u2013 is quite welcome.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast to the homespun quality of some of the tracks on <i>Southern Fables<\/i>, the closing track \u201cThe Storm\u201d is a completely new recording. Based on a lo-fi recording the group made decades ago, I\u2019s a stirring tune with forlorn fiddles, crystalline guitar and a yearning lead vocal from Adcox. And it\u2019s a lovely way to cap off an album \u2026 and, as fate would have it, a career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s unusual \u2013 and unexpected \u2013 to receive a CD with an accompanying press sheet describing that album as the artist\u2019s final release. But that\u2019s the case with Southern Fables, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24602,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,62,65],"tags":[1946],"class_list":["post-24601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-release","category-rawk","category-review","tag-shoe-birds","cat-49-id","cat-62-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24601"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24603,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24601\/revisions\/24603"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}