About 18 months ago, Chuck Melchin—formerly of The Bean Pickers Union—announced his new project with a delightful EP. Now, they’re back with a full-length album.
Right from the start, with the track “Battlefield,” there’s something about the harmonies that has a timeless quality, yet it also delivers on his desire to create more upbeat music.
Despite talk of leaving his sword on the battlefield, he sounds ready for the fight. “Girl From My Building” has an overt 60s pop feel, and the fact that it’s followed by the beautifully lugubrious “This Is What Poets Mean” speaks to the greater eclecticism this time around. “Skinny Lady,” for example, could have easily fit on a Dan Baird album.
If that one is all about lo-slung guitar and rock n roll, then the poetry of “The Weight Of Being” is all about light and shade.
“Queen Of The Sick Burn” has a touch of The Replacements, and the clever pacing of this track truly makes it a journey—one that could only happen if the musicians embarking on it were first-rate.
The album is rooted in country music, as the last song, “Smuggling,” underlines one last time, but it’s about so much more.
From every blue sky, a little rain sometimes falls, and there’s plenty of emotion here, but “Raindancer” is exquisitely done.
Rating: 8.5/10
REVIEW IN BRIEF: THE BLUEST SKY – RAINDANCER (2024)
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