With Time and Water, their third full-length, Washington, D.C.’s Last Train Home has become a full-time alt-country band. Led by former Washington Post music writer Eric Brace and his brother Allen, LTH members have reportedly quit their day jobs and gone on tour full-time to promote the album. It’s a strong enough album to give them some hopes of success.
Last Train Home is one of the most critically acclaimed groups in the D.C.-area’s thriving music scene. On this album, the nine-piece agglomeration is joined by, among others, local stalwarts Mary Battiata of Little Pink and Karl Straub of the Graverobbers, as well as Australian slide guitarist extraordinaire Jeff Lang.
It’s a well-rounded effort, hitting all the bases of a classic country album, starting with the rollicking country-rocker “Lorelei.” This one’s a metaphor-laden love song built around the well-known siren’s statue on the Rhine, with some slick guitar work from Lang and a catchy refrain of “I still like you…”
“Quarter to 3” is a mostly acoustic newgrass breakdown, with some bluesy wailing harp from Alan and nice dobro from Eric. “Once in a While” is a slow country-rocker, while “See What Love Can Do” is a nifty little bluegrass murder ballad; only this time, instead of boy killing girl, he kills her Pa and he and she live happily ever after — more nice slide work from Lang on this one, too.
“Blue Skies” is a toe-tapping honky-tonk shuffle in the George Jones tradition, and “He’s the Kind” is a hot bit of country soul, complete with organ and competing horns and harmonica. The pedal steel of Dave Van Allen goes head-to-head with Doug Derryberry’s twangy Telecaster on “Best Wishes,” in which a guy who can’t make a commitment finds himself with nothing but a wilting bouquet and those wishes from his girl.
The band kicks out all the jams for a rocking take on the Bill Monroe-Peter Rowan song, “Walls of Time,” and finishes things off with the Latin-tinged instrumental “Las Lagrimas del Pollo Rico.” The trumpet carries the melody on this one, which is based on the Cuban tune “Veinte Años,” by Maria Teresa Vera. A high point is Little Pink’s “All Right Okay” radically rearranged as a waltz, in the intro section, with just acoustic guitar and dobro accompaniment. Then the whole band jumps in with a four-beat rhythm that makes it really soar.
Eric Brace, who wrote nearly all of these songs, has a way with words and melody, combining the two in a way that can pack an emotional punch. Sometimes the production holds the listener at arm’s length when a little more room to breathe might increase their impact. But overall, Time and Water is another solid release from Last Train Home.
(Adult Swim, 2003)
https://www.redbeetrecords.com/last-train-home
