Warning: The magic method Gallery_Img::__wakeup() must have public visibility in /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/gallery-images/gallery-images.php on line 97 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/gallery-images/gallery-images.php:97) in /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1794 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/gallery-images/gallery-images.php:97) in /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1794 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/gallery-images/gallery-images.php:97) in /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1794 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/gallery-images/gallery-images.php:97) in /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1794 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/gallery-images/gallery-images.php:97) in /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1794 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/gallery-images/gallery-images.php:97) in /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1794 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/gallery-images/gallery-images.php:97) in /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1794 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/gallery-images/gallery-images.php:97) in /customers/7/c/1/markolsonmusic.com/httpd.www/wordpress/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1794 {"id":1685,"date":"2017-08-31T15:37:57","date_gmt":"2017-08-31T15:37:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markolsonmusic.com\/?p=1685"},"modified":"2017-09-06T00:27:12","modified_gmt":"2017-09-06T00:27:12","slug":"americana-this-is-the-real-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markolsonmusic.com\/americana-this-is-the-real-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Americana? This is the real deal. The title track ‘Spokeswoman of the Bright Sky’ is epic. A lyrical and poetic album"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark Olson surfaced as a songwriter of note when The Jayhawks emerged crossing post-punk with \u201cnew\u201d country in a genre we now call ‘Americana’. Olson later formed the much loved Original Harmony Creekdippers along with Victoria Williams and a caravan of guests who were responsible for a series of truly remarkable albums including ‘My Own Jo Ellen’ and ‘Mystic Theatre’. It could be said Olson\u2019s lo-fi approach spawned a new generation of songwriters such as Iron and Wine, Bon Iver and the like. Olsen re-appears after a three year hiatus accompanied by his wife and musical collaborator Ingunn Ringvold to deliver ‘Spokeswoman of the Bright Sky’.<\/span><\/p>\n

The couple live at Joshua Tree ,California and the album was written and recorded at their home. From the opening song ‘Dear Elisabeth’ in which the listener is greeted by Olson\u2019s trademark wistful vocals and Ringvold\u2019s harmonies the feeling is one of intimacy. Clearly a step up from Creekdipper recordings, Olson\u2019s experience and confidence is obvious.<\/p>\n

‘Dear Elisabeth’ immediately sets the scene. It is warm and gentle. Lewis Keller\u2019s bass provides a subtle grounding and we get a first taste of Ringvold\u2019s skills with string arrangements. Olsen croons a rather yearning philosophical poem. ‘Time of Love’ has a lovely alt.country pace and unusual solo conjuring up images of sparse desert highways. The title track ‘Spokeswoman of the Bright Sky’ is epic. Haunting strings combine with a folky psychedelic panorama filled with strange images of \u201ctear games\u201d and \u201cpurple stones\u201d.<\/p>\n

‘Spokeswoman’ is a lyrical and poetic album. Filled with gently strummed guitars, dulcimer, bass and mellotron the ambience is spacious and reflective. The lyrics are peppered with unusual imagery, such as \u201cpear blossom traffic lights\u201d and \u201dtall buildings in Iowa\u201d for instance. A harpsichord seems to feature in the very 60\u2019s influenced ‘Seminole Valley Tea Sippers Society’, a song that flows along happily. The lyrics seem a little obscure but are in keeping with the nature of the composition.<\/p>\n

This new album finds Mark Olson in a seemingly philosophical frame of mind. The relaxed and contemplative feel of the record asks big questions. “Where am I going?\u201d he wonders on ‘Gravity Lost’, which features a lovely flute laden fade-out . Ruminations over life\u2019s journey on the superb ‘All Of My Days’. There is an economy about the album. Songs are short, uncomplicated yet inventive and without ever breaking sweat have that certain something that reflects the intimate and relaxed atmosphere in which they were recorded. The final cut on the album ‘Death Valley Soda Pop Cool Down Dream’ leaves you with the question \u201cWhere is Life\u201d . This seems a rhetorical question as the gentle hazy psychedelic country flavour of these songs leave you with the feeling that Olson, despite his musings, has found what life is all about .<\/p>\n

Americana? This is the real deal.<\/p>\n

-Keith How<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mark Olson surfaced as a songwriter of note when The Jayhawks emerged crossing post-punk with \u201cnew\u201d country in a genre we now call ‘Americana’. Olson later formed the much loved…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1686,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nAmericana? This is the real deal. The title track 'Spokeswoman of the Bright Sky' is epic. A lyrical and poetic album ⋆<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/markolsonmusic.com\/americana-this-is-the-real-deal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Americana? This is the real deal. The title track 'Spokeswoman of the Bright Sky' is epic. 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