Review: Aurelia Anne Cohen ‘The Magnolia Sessions’
While I personally have not yet covered any of Anti-Corp Music’s mainman, Dan Emery’s fabled The Magnolia Sessions, I’ve been interested in the project for a while, having kept up with it as we here at The Shaman have covered it from the very beginning.
The idea of interesting, underground, country, folk, acoustic, and Americana acts being recorded live, outside, under Emery’s magnolia tree is pretty cool, and I was excited to experience it through the lens of a reviewer.
I will say that I am in no way some sort of country/folk aficionado in any way. My tastes with the genre generally originate with my father, and the sounds of the classics, like Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt and musicians of their kind from that era.
For this installment of The Magnolia Sessions, the showcased artist is Aurelia Anne Cohen, an Arizona-based performer, songwriter, guitarist, and accordionist. What I’m immediately struck by is the organic atmosphere emanating from my speakers. Even before a single note of the opener, Black Sea Waltz, hits my ears, I am transported outdoors to a late summer evening. The sound of buzzing insects gives way to Cohen’s accordion, instantly complemented by Brice Clayborne Clark’s beautiful fiddle playing, which evokes the feel of an ancient soundtrack.
The aptly titled Father Time is an acoustic track and marks the first time we hear Cohen’s voice. It’s not hard to picture her as the singer of some long-lost Americana folk band. It is not just her voice and cadence; the live setting allows for an authentically vintage sound. Staying in the acoustic vein, Carry It With You is a somber, yet affirming affair, wherein the fiddle plays a prominent role.
it’s easy to envision this echoing across the American landscape over a century ago…
Elsewhere, the fun Waltz From Galicia sees the accordion and the fiddle seemingly doing an actual waltz as the two instruments move fluidly together. Given the outdoor setting, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine this being played at some early twentieth-century Appalachian get-together. Cohen picks up her acoustic again with the odd, melancholic folk of Fairweather. This track sees her utilizing some interesting vocal stylings that found themselves stuck in my head, lending the song a distinct, hundred-year-old feel.
Now’s All You Got starts off on a slightly solemn note, unfolds into a bouncy, warm, don’t-take-life-for-granted tune driven by accordion and fiddle. We are treated to another throwback with Bluemont Waltz; once again, it’s easy to envision this echoing across the American landscape over a century ago. Amari Szi Amari features some epic, dizzying fiddle skronking, leaving me imagining a long-ago traditional Romani dance somewhere in Eastern Europe. When The Next Whistle Blows, ends things on a lively note with plenty of acoustic guitar and upbeat fiddling, bringing this intriguing album to a close.
I enjoyed this release quite a bit, finding it to be a fantastic late-night listen. The organic feel and sound of the recording cannot be overstated, and this – coupled with Cohen’s voice, guitar, accordion, fiddle, and overall aesthetic – left me feeling like I had unearthed a forgotten relic from a bygone era. If you’re in the mood for something different and need a reprieve from the usual riff-battering, one could do much worse than this unique, quirky record.
Label: Anti-Corp Music
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Martin Williams
