By Brandon Henry

Americana/roots music is written for the broken hearted, lonely, lost souls who wander through the shadows of watering holes in search of love, piece of mind, music and a cold drink. Through gritty acoustic guitars, soulful vocals Nikki and the Ruemates We All Live Together captures this with a mixture of 11 country/blues songs that satisfy like a cold drink on a hot day.

The opening track “Burning Up” shuffles with a slow groove that confidently struts like a broken hearted woman across a dingy bar.  The guitars call and respond to each other with minimalistic drums and lead licks that are the Tobasco on your eggs.  The song lays the track for this heartbroken album to roll on as Nikki’s vocals ooze the soul out of thin air on the bouncy unsatisfied blues tracks  “I Can’t Be Satisfied” and “Down on Me.”

“I am Your Angel” hints at Gordon Lightfoot’s “Sundown” but paints a lonesome landscape like a Neil Young ballad.  The accordion hums in the background as a slight touch of hand drum taps out an accented rhythm as the reso-guitar slides out an easy-going groove.

The album veers off its roots rails as it delves into a bazaar psycodelic-folk jam in “I am a Tree.”  Nikki’s Grace Slick like vocals soar over a droning sitar-like guitar as it gives way to the record’s other atmospheric jam, “Breezy Air.”  While both of these songs would be great soundtracks for the end of a party when you’re down to the last drags of your cigarette, they don’t mesh well with the rest of the bluesy country vibe of We All Live Together.

As the waves recede, “Green Light II” brings the Ruemates back to their roots shore with its island vibe with a rolling xylophone and sunny harmonies.  The blues drenched “Lonesome Day Blues” has a groove that is perfect for chilling out on the porch with a cold drink watching the cars roll by.

Call me simple minded, but I enjoy “New Bumble Bee” as it rollicks and rolls through obvious metaphors of a bee and his stinger. That being said, the song is a lot of fun to listen to not only lyrically, but the guitars get a chance to cut loose.

On the closing track (besides an alternate version of Green Light II), “Sleepless Nights” stands out as a country gem that could hold its own against the standards.  A weeping pedal steel cries in the distance as Nikki’s longing voice yearns for a lost love.  The rest of the Ruemates blend their harmonies perfectly as a finely picked guitar hammers out a soulful solo.

The straight forward, no frills attitude of We All Live Together is what makes roots music, roots music.  That’s what I like about it.  Nikki and the Ruemates aren’t reinventing the wheel on this one, but they’ve captured the soul of roots music.

www.nikkimatteson.com

Filed under: Music Reviews