Review: Sal Kimber & The Rollin’ Wheel, <em>Sal Kimber & The Rollin’ Wheel</em>

Review: Sal Kimber & The Rollin’ Wheel, Sal Kimber & The Rollin’ Wheel

September 12, 2011 at 16:23 (Albums, Reviews)
Tags: alt country, folk music, sal kimber, sal kimber & the rollin' wheel

Image Courtesy of Sal Kimber & The Rollin’ Wheel

Ah Sal Kimber where have you been all my life? When your debut album Sal Kimber & The Rollin’ Wheel dropped through my letter box last week I did what I always do – ripped it to my MP3 player and added it to my “to listen to” playlist for another time. It wasn’t until several days later during my daily commute that the album’s first track “Rockin’ Chair” hit my ears and I suddenly realised I’d been wasting precious time not listening to this album. I’m going to say it right here – Sal Kimber & The Rollin’ Wheel have restored my faith in country music.

My relationship with country music is a little love/hate. Until I released country music had an “alt” cousin I tended to steer clear of the genre altogether, seeing it as a sanitised, Americanised version of the much more genuine folk music. But once I opened my eyes to the country music that was not breaking through to the Garth Brooks level of exposure, both from here and America, I began to realise there was a lot to love about this music, and far more similarities to my beloved folk than there were differences. This discovery has been helped along by the rise of some truly inspirational alt-country artists in this country, the latest of which is the wonderful Sal Kimber and her band The Rollin’ Wheel.

From the laidback banjo driven groove of opener “Rockin’ Chair”, Sal Kimber & The Rollin’ Wheel takes the listener on a tour of Americana themes (the road song, the heart-breaker, the ballad) all told through an Australian lens. “Do Right” is the rollicking rockabilly blues number. The first single, “Beat Gets Louder”, feels as though it’s been soaked in whiskey and cigarettes. “Rollin’ Wheel” will have pride of place on my next driving-song mix. “Rushing Through My Veins” has a hauntingly folky vibe that feels like nothing else on the album but fits perfectly. And “Southbound” puts you right on the train described in the song.

Sal Kimber & The Rollin’ Wheel is an album of standout songs but the peak, for me at least, lies in two tracks – “Your Town” and “Sweet Love”. Stripped back to just Kimber’s beautiful country voice and electric and slide guitars, “Your Town” may be the song that makes use of The Rollin’ Wheel’s considerable talents the least but its arrangement is pitch perfect – you can really feel the nostalgia and yearning oozing out of every lyric, every note. “Sweet Love” is a little more of a whole band affair but still has the emotional resonance of “Your Town” which is punctuated by the wonderful, almost gospel like backing vocals – sublime.

Sal Kimber & The Rollin’ Wheel are very obviously influenced by the big names of modern Americana – Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, Alison Kraus, Gillian Welch – but I can also hear reflections of their contemporaries in the album, either purposefully or because they are drawing from the same tradition. A number of the tracks recall The Audreys (although I think Sal Kimber is a little more world weary than Taasha Coates) and more than once I had flashbacks to Jordie Lane’s latest album Blood Thinner. Sal Kimber & The Rollin’ Wheel is an absolutely stunning addition to the Australian alt-country canon and a must have for Timber and Steel fans.

Sal Kimber & The Rollin’ Wheel is due to be released on the 15th October. Sal Kimber & The Rollin’ Wheel will be touring nationally from mid October – check out the full dates here.