The Song: "Mama Lonely Wolf"
The Album: Shapeshifter
Ten Word Description: The very definition of freak-folk, without the gnarly beard.
Notesplosions: At a recent Grass Roots Record Company gig, I was fortunate enough to see the truly excellent Aaron Ross play a short 4-song set. During this song, I was spurred towards the merch table, run by the rest of the artists in attendance (most notably, the wonderful Ms. Alela Diane). I found myself torn between two CD's. Mariee Sioux, a young singer from NorCal, looked at me, handed me Aaron's debut, looked me in the eye, and said "this was my favorite album in high school."
Needless to say, I bought both albums.
Aaron Ross has the voice of a desert hurricane. Thin with years of wear and stress, but no doubt as boisterous as the day he was born, Aaron's voice is coupled with his rhythmic, almost militaristic bend on freak-folk. In a scene that bleeds into itself, finger-picking all the way to general mediocrity as it attempts to ape Iron & Wine, Joanna Newsom, and (God help us) Devendra Banhart, Ross stands out like a blissfully sore thumb. His presence is at once off-putting and life-affirming.
His lyrics ride the gamut from observational to abstract, with both shown off in full strength in the beautiful "Elevator Blues," one of at least three songs that could be considered for a good afternoon's Explosion. His storytelling brings to mind Collin Meloy; Ross presents the same unique, epic perspective on the mundane. The song's opening line, regarding "whispered secrets" is haunting, and the promise is fulfilled in the song's closing refrain. It is this refrain, by the way, that puts this song ahead of all the rest on Shapeshifter.
Wonderful world, indeed, with Aaron Ross in it.
Check him and all the rest of the artists of Grass Roots Record Company at their website. And check out "Elevator Blues" on Head Exploder Radio.
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