When The Ross Bloom Again

Laura Cantrell "When The Roses Bloom Again" (SPITCD014)
The long awaited return of NY's finest country songstress...

1. Too Late For Tonight (mp3 clip)
2. All The Same To You (mp3 clip)
3. Early Years
4. Don't Break The Heart
5. Wait
6. Mountain Fern
7.Vaguest Idea
8. Yonder Comes A Freight Train (mp3 clip)
9. Broken Again (mp3 clip)
10. When The Roses Bloom Again (mp3 clip)
11. Conqueror's Song
12. Oh So Many Years

(Click to buy for £9.99)

RHINESTONE-FREE COUNTRY TRUMPETED BY JOHN PEEL**** (4 stars)
"How ironic that it took a Scottish indie label to kickstart the career of Nshville-born, New York-based Cantrell by first picking up on her debut, Not The Tremblin Kind. Having worked once, there's no earhly reason to change things scond time around. Something of a throwback to the late-'50s pre-countrypolitan sound with lashings of steel guitar, there's an uncomplicated freshness to her, almost bordering on innocence. Not afraid to mix covers (including Amy Rigby's Don't Break The Heart) with her own tunes, she's the perfect riposte to those who reckon they don't make country music like they used to. "
(Q magazine)

"Although based in New York, Cantrell displays a fine country-folk pop sensibility, and merits being mentioned alongside Lucinda Williams, Mary Chapin Carpenter and (early) Nanci Griffith. Even more assured than her debut, this contains plenty of toe-tappers as well as lyrical insights. **** (4 stars)
(The Independent)

"Rolling Stone magazine called Laura Cantrell "the sweetest country voice in New York" when her album Not The Tremblin' Kind hit the racks in 2000. Now it's time for the singer described as "Nanci Grittith meets Emmylou Harris - only better!" to make a whole host of new friends in high places. And this collection of 12 carefully crafted songs can only help her achieve that aim. Born in Nashville, Laura's spent the last 15 years living and performing in New York City, as well as pursuing a parallel career as a radio Deejay (she hosts The Radio Thrift Shop every Saturday afternoon on WFMU in New York). But songs like the achy heartbreaker Too Lat For Tonight, the steel guitar-laced Wait and All The Same To You, with its sassy, in-your-face delivery reminiscent of Mary Chapin Carter, suggests she should stay this side of the fence. After all the must be one of the few artists to have caught the ear of both John Peel and Bob Harris. Give her the chance, and Laura Cantrell's intelligent country will catch yours."
(HMV Choice)

"When Laura Cantrell's last album Not The Tremblin' Kind was declared by none other than our very own John Peel to be possibly his favourite album of the last ten years the music world of couldn't help but sit up and listen. If a country folk album by a New Yorker and released on an up and coming Scottish independent label didn't sound the most promising thing in the world When The Roses Bloom Again proves that it was no fluke and that old Peely was right on the money. Let those with sympathetic ears listen and spread the word.
Using the same team of producer and guitarist Jay Sherman-Godfrey of the World Famous Blue Jays and a fine ensemble featuring the accomplished pedal steel of Jon Graboff, Cantrell has settled on a winning formula. Mixing self-written originals with songs by fellow NYC roots rock veterans Joe Flood (who also worked with Kelly Willis) and Amy Rigby amongst others she delivers a solid four-to-the-floor set that rings with Byrds-like guitar figures (Flood's "All The Same To You" and "Vaguest Idea") and retains a Merle Haggard simplicity; especially on her version of "Yonder Comes A Freight Train". Not a belter in the vocal department, she manages to retain a charming fragility while knowing enough to be able to inject humour and colour where its needed ("Too Late For Tonight").
None of this is surprising when you consider that though a Gotham city resident, she hails from Nashville and has an alternative career as a DJ - hence the ability to spot fine material when she sees it. The finest example of this is the A P Carter-penned title track, that retains the Wilco arrangement (bestowed upon it from its days as a contender for their Billy Bragg collaboration, Mermaid Avenue). Its mandolin-driven lilt is perfectly pitched to appeal to all those recent bluegrass converts and alt country fiends alike. Such assured knowledge of musical roots and contemporary trends puts her easily in the same league as, say, The Handsome Family, though a little less dark or ironic.
Ultimately though, its her own material that seems to offer the most promise. The storytelling of "Mountain Fern", is by far the most affecting of the cuts on offer. We can only hope that - with such plaudits already being gathered - next time around she has the confidence to offer us more of herself. In the meantime, this will do just fine."
(bbc.co.uk)

"Subtly understated but gloriously realised, Cantrell purveys a softly beguiling craft. Country music blessed with soul and touched by pop. Songs that touch and connect. Music of twang and jangle, shivery with mood and swoon. 'Vaguest Idea' is a breezy Byrdsian blast. 'Yonder Comes a Freight Train' rocks and strolls and chugs irresistibly. 'All The Same To You' floats by, but lingers long. Title track is a cover of an out-take from the Wilco/Billy Bragg 'Mermaid Avenue' album of Woody Guthrie songs (except it turned out to have been written by AP Carter...). This is a lovely record. A delicate mix of covers and originals. A happy, sad and very beauteous thing"
(Time Out)

"This is a beautiful, warm, affecting album, which shows up many floaty, tastefully angsty songstresses for the major label-sponsored empty vessels that they are. Part-time radio DJ, Cantrell is Nashville-born but has lived in New York for years, not that there is any trace of urban frenzy in her gently heartbreaking country laments. The antithesis of the big-haired, flashy divas of her birthplace, she is equally at home with melodic Byrdsian jangling, traditional country cover versions and intimate, heart-on-sleeve balladry. John Peel ranks her 2000 debut album, Not The Tremblin’ Kind, as one of his all-time favourites. Now he has another gem to add to his list."
(The Scotsman)

"Alt.country songbird Laura Cantrell cuts to the heart of the matter right from the first line of her second album. "I've been sitting all night listening to my records," she croons, and the well-developed aesthetics of this sometime college DJ are strongly in evidence here. "All The Same To You" is like a fresh-scrubbed Lucinda Williams, while the title track flirts successfully with old-time country, and closer "Oh So Many Years" channels the honky-tonk ghost of Kitty Wells. With agreeably bare-bones production and a feathery, unmannered vocal style, Cantrell positions herself as the Emmylou Harris of the post-Uncle Tupelo country-rock crowd, touted accordingly by such know-it-alls as Elvis Costello."
(Uncut magazine)

"Like 'Not The Tremblin' Kind' before it, 'When The Roses...' is a mixed bag of Cantrell's own tracks (she confesses to being happy if she only produces four fully developed songs each year; those four are presumably the ones credited to her on this album), those of other contemporary New York songwriters, and also covers of some "vintage" country standards of old, this time from the likes of Jim and Jesse and Kitty Wells; and right from the opening bars of the opening Cantrell penned 'Too Late For Tonight', you can tell that something great is at work here under the surface of the wistful shimmer.
The opening eight songs rattle along in great style. In the hands of anyone else but Cantrell some of them may have come accross as slightly overblown, but in her trademark understated drawl here they are tempered into near brilliance, Cantrell the sedating ringleader of the aching harmonies, proving herself a true country music virtuoso in her own self-made style; voice like a bath full of honey.
Of the stand-out tracks: the recent single 'All The Same To You', believe it or not, is Status Quo at their very best; 'Mountain Fern' is a plaintive epic of mammothly understated proportions and this album's answer to the previous album genius of 'Queen Of The Coast', Cantrell's storytelling excelling to Kafka like proportions; on 'Wait', her voice goes together with the gentle guitar like a dream, meanwhile the percussionist sets a languorous beat to which the temptation to reside in the local hay stable for the next twenty years has never before seemed to attain such an element of allure (this is good); 'Vaguest Idea' is as good as pure country music ever gets; and 'Broken Again' twists away like a flower in the breeze before we are treated to the awesome rendition of the Carter Family penned title track that follows.
To say hers are dulcet tones would be a vast understatement, but then she'd probably like that. There is no doubt that Cantrell is at her best when her songs give her a chance to understate things when they're almost bursting at the seams, and the songs on here seem to fit her laid back charm like a glove.
'When The Roses Bloom Again': an acclaimable team performance, no doubt. But for Cantrell herself we should really be rolling out the red carpet and fervently pitching roses.
Truly outstanding. 4 and 1/2 out of 5"
(Drownedinsound.com)

"Anyone coming to Laura Cantrell's second album on the strength of the hype surrounding her first (John Peel pronounced it was 'possibly the best record of his life') may suffer an initial disappointment, but this is a record whse virtues are of the old-fashioned kind.
A New York country DJ, Cantrell has an ear for a good song, a voice whose simplicity is disarming and a fondness for the kind of disciplined, crafty musicianship which goes a long way to redeeming the tarnished name of pop-country. Three or four listens and the effect is entirely beguiling. ****(4 stars)"
(The List)

"The follow-up record to an album described by no less an authority as John Peel as “My favourite record of the last ten years and possibly my life” was never going to be an easy ride, but New York based country DJ Laura Cantrell has just about managed it with her second collection of songs, “When the Roses Bloom Again.” Featuring twelve three and four minute tracks written both by Cantrell herself and by a wide variety of renowned mainly local New York singer-songwriters, Cantrell’s voice sounds as pure and distinctive as ever, but it’s the music itself again that sells it as succesfully as it does. Beginning with one of her own songs, “Too Late for Tonight” is co-written by Francis McDonald (Teenage Fanclub) and sparkles with the energy of its chiming chords and the contemplative late night musings of a relationship, complete with alluring lapsteel and Cantrell’s stong acoustic playing. Her own songs are indeed some of the strongest on the album, but there are other points of interests too, most notably the title track, a cover of an out-take from the Wilco/Billy Bragg collaboration “Mermaid Avenue,” which genuinely sounds better than you could ever have imagined Tweedy and Bragg performing it - in itself a testament to Cantrell’s skill with even the most respected material. Despite all the almost perfunctory credit that will get heaped upon the album, it’s still clear that very much like the first record, its key ingredient is charm, which it has in abundance - it really does make you glow with the songs and even at its most poignant moments, leaves you feeling happily soporific. One of this year’s essential albums - again."
(www.americana-uk.com)

1. Too Late for Tonight (Laura Cantrell/Francis Macdonald)
This song was mostly written in the middle of the night. Except for the bridge chords that I couldn’t quite get, no matter what time of day. Francis (my Glasgow-based drummer and label head) helped out with those on a lull one afternoon while touring the UK. This song has been in the live set for the last year or so.

2. All the Same to You (Joe Flood)
Joe is a great writer and fiddle player who I’ve admired since his days with Mumbo Gumbo, a N.Y.-based roots band from the early ’90s. We previously tapped his “Pile of Woe” for Not the Tremblin' Kind. This one originally appeared on his 2001 album Cripplin' Crutch, and Jon came up with the great electric 12-string intro.

3. Early Years (Laura Cantrell)
One of my new originals inspired by those California-based country artists of the ’50s and ’60s, like Merle Haggard, Bonnie Owens, Tommy Collins and Wynn Stewart. Jay and Jon traded off on the acoustic guitars, and Robin and Jay sang it real sweet.

4. Don't Break the Heart (Amy Rigby)
I've been a fan of Amy’s since I heard her band the Last Roundup playing live on the radio in the mid-’80s. She was one of the first writers I was aware of playing country music from the perspective of a young person living in New York. “Don’t Break the Heart” was included on her debut album, Diary of a Mod Housewife, in 1996.

5. Wait (Jay Sherman-Godfrey)
Jay has produced (and played guitar on) these last two records for me and contributed the lovely “Little Bit of You” to Not the Tremblin’ Kind. He describes this song as his “country Badfinger” effort. It has a beautiful melody and Jon played some sweet pedal steel guitar to keep it country.

6. Mountain Fern (Laura Cantrell)
“Mountain Fern” is probably my favorite of the original songs on this album. It is based on the story of Molly O’ Day, a popular radio performer and recording artist of the late ’40s and early ’50s. She struggled to balance her musical career with her fervent religious beliefs, and ultimately decided to abandon the secular music business altogether. Her real name was Laverne Williamson and she had several stage personas before settling on Molly O’ Day, among them “Mountain Fern” and “Dixie Darling.”

7. Vaguest Idea (Dan Prater)
Dan was a member of the storied Beat Rodeo, a long-running country rock band that played every Monday night on the Lower East Side. Singer and bass player, he also wrote great songs that fit nicely between their Buck Owens and Beach Boys covers. We also did his “Do You Ever Think of Me” on Not The Tremblin’ Kind.

8. Yonder Comes a Freight Train (Ray Pennington)
I first heard this song on an old radio show by Jim & Jesse, one of the important "brother" duos in bluegrass music. I am almost certain this is the only bluegrass song with a New York City subway reference! We've been doing “Yonder” in our live show for a long time, since it gives the band a chance to play real fast.

9. Broken Again (Laura Cantrell)
This is an older song of mine that was written as I watched a friend wrestle with some bad habits that I wanted no part of. Robin and I used to do this in an acoustic group we had called the Watchbirds; then Robin, Jay and I performed it as a trio before we added the rest of the band.

10. When the Roses Bloom Again (A.P. Carter/Arr. Wilco)
I first heard this song sung by Sally Timms (of the Mekons) on her album Cowboy Sally's Twilight Laments. She played it live on a visit to the Radio Thrift Shop and I sat rapt, forgetting that I was supposed to be running the show while she sang. Sally explained that Billy Bragg and Wilco discovered the lyric in the Woody Guthrie archives and Jeff Tweedy had written a beautiful melody for it. They subsequently realized that the lyric was probably a traditional song copyrighted by A.P. Carter of the Carter Family, and couldn’t include it in the Mermaid Avenue project for which it was recorded (the Wilco version finally surfaced on the Chelsea Walls soundtrack). I learned the song to sing on a tour of the UK and recorded a solo version for my first Peel Session. I love the idea that an old song passes through so many hands and becomes new again.

11. Conqueror’s Song (Dave Schramm)
Dave is one of my favorite songwriters and guitarists, and leads a great band from Hoboken called the Schramms. This song was featured on their 1994 album Little Apocalypse. I couldn’t quite figure out which oppressor Dave was protesting with this song; unfortunately, it could have been one of many candidates. But for me the song could be political or personal, a statement of resistance against untruthfulness.

12. Oh So Many Years (Frankie Bailes)
This is a quintessential country song from the 1950s recorded by Kitty Wells and Webb Pierce as a duet, and also quite beautifully by the Everly Brothers on their back-to-the-roots album Songs Our Daddy Taught Us. I listened to a lot of Everly Brothers as a child and have carried this song around since then for lonely rainy evenings.