Review: Nick Gusman And The Coyotes – Lifting Heavy Things
Nick Gusman and The Coyotes have become one of the region’s most popular Americana acts. Given the genre’s popularity in the area, there’s a lot of competition, and this makes standing out no small feat. Whether it is at one of their regular Venice Cafe gigs, performing at Blues games, or on outdoor stages at local spring and summer festivals and fairs, the band can be found playing in a wide variety of venues across the St. Louis metro area. The band also tours regionally on a regular basis and has made multiple trips to Europe. In other words, they stay very busy. Over the past year, they also found the time to return to Native Sound Recording, where they recorded this latest effort.
Lifting Heavy Things finds them in fine form and expanding their repertoire with more diverse influences that reach beyond songwriter Gusman’s previous releases. The album begins with Tokyo Hotel, which is probably my personal favorite track on the album. This tune sees Gusman and the band toning down the twang and blending a Yankee Hotel Foxtrot-era Wilco feel with a vocal delivery that more than nods to Bob Dylan. The song also features backing vocals from Mattie Schell, which was an excellent production choice and helps it take flight on the choruses. Sound Of A Broken Heart, the album’s second track, continues to find keyboardist Tony Hall prominent in the mix. This record definitely feels more keyboard-forward, compared to their self-titled album. Here again, the band effectively uses backing vocals, while fiddle player Sean Camery steps forward to take a solo.
After these openers, the band settles into Slow Down Katie, which is more reminiscent of their last release. It is an easy-riding Americana tune that their fans will surely enjoy. This third track provides an opportunity to showcase the skills of lead guitarist Garrett Rongey, who is one of the region’s best country pickers. This is followed by Shortcut Mountain, which features distorted guitars and a more rock’n’roll vibe. Tonally, it would feel at home on modern country radio, though it doesn’t have the big hook that modern pop songs generally demand. Instead, the band effectively uses instrumentation to build energy and tension that ebbs and flows throughout the song. The band is made up of great players, and many listeners will enjoy the song’s eventual transformation into an extended jam that brings to mind 70’s rock from KSHE’s glory days.
From there, the album turns to its namesake, Lifting Heavy Things. This was the album’s first single and is another tune that will feel instantly familiar to longtime fans of Gusman. It’s a radio-friendly, catchy tune that highlights the ample skills of the lead guitarist and fiddle player. From there, the track American Dream takes a minor key turn with lyrics focused on existential dread and a narrative about the violence that pervades our society. I am sure that many readers can empathize with the song’s main character, who proclaims “I didn’t sign up for this shit!” The record takes a blues-y turn on Stray Dog.
The band picks up the pace on Trucker, which also sees guitarist Garrett Rongey take over main vocal duties. The tune highlights the diversity of talents that band members possess, as Garrett wrote the tune. While taking a break from singing lead, Gusman’s harmonica performance shows that his skills extend beyond singing and playing guitar. It’s a fun change of pace and palette cleanser. As the name suggests, the tune is a 70’s-style country ode to big rig driving that brings to mind Dave Dudley’s catalog. This is followed by Magic 8 Ball, a tune that somewhat returns to the Wilco-influenced vibe of the album opener Tokyo Hotel, though with a more rocking feel. Where Tokyo Hotel borrows vibes from Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Magic 8 Ball would feel more at home on AM. The album closes strong on We Got A Job To Do, a blue collar anthem that finds the band turning the twang all the way up. It’s another tune with an extended solo, this time featuring harmony guitars in another subtle nod to the 70’s. The album’s last two tunes make an effective one-two punch that bring it to a satisfying conclusion. All in all, the record strikes a nice balance between the kinds of songs that will feel familiar to existing fans, while also showcasing musical growth and more sophisticated production choices that will likely win the band new fans.
The full album was released on streaming services on December 7th. Physical copies of the record will be available at the album release show, which will feature local favorite Al Holliday and the East Side Rhythm Band and will be held at Old Rock House, also on the evening of December 13th.
