Willie Heath Neal and Kira Annalise are the married leaders of The Waymores, an outfit residing in Atlanta, GA, USA (or thereabouts) who specialize in self-described honky-tonk Americana, with their new LP The Stone Sessions the group’s second release on vinyl following a 5-song EP from 2019. It offers ten tracks hitting their chosen style smack in the bullseye through memorable songwriting and an unstrained handle on the template of classic country, with the atmosphere deepened by the pedal steel of Steve Stone, who also helps produce, and guest contributions courtesy of Katie Shore from Asleep at the Wheel and Dale Watson. The album’s out April 8 on Chicken Ranch Records.
The Stone Sessions opens strong with a tidy little gem of an old-school C&W duet. That is, it’s in the tradition of George and Tammy and Conway and Loretta while avoiding the imitative, a sweet achievement pulled off partly through Willie Heath Neal’s assured baritone. But there’s also the hearty sass of Kira Annalise to consider, plus a direct, tough instrumental approach that relates to Neal’s prior experience in trad country, punk, and psychobilly bands.
Indeed, in a prior era, The Waymores might’ve been tagged as cowpunk, though it bears mentioning that the music doesn’t flout convention but instead largely attains a non-labored reverence infused with subtle contemporary flourishes, e.g. Annalise’s vocals and rhythm in isolation at the start of “Even When,” a combination that’s in productive contrast with the ensuing flurries of Steve Stone’s pedal steel.
Speaking of Stone, he delivers a few atypical timbres to the robust honky-tonk aura of “Die Right Here,” as his input helps to solidify the album as an improvement on the preceding EP (which is a likable enough affair). This circumstance is unsurprising given the title, though the core couple has also upped their game, as there is increased ease in rapport and sharper songwriting deepening the comfort zone.
But not every cut is an original composition. “Caught” comes courtesy of noted Texas country vet Dale Watson, who plays guitar on the track alongside Asleep at the Wheel’s Katie Shore on fiddle, both welcome additions. And in a nice twist, it’s “I Don’t Like the Liquor,” which immediately follows in the album’s sequence (an Anders Thomson tune), that digs deepest into country boogie a la Bob Wills and Asleep at the Wheel.
From there, “Road Worn” hits like a leftfield 1970s C&W hit in the Outlaw style, but with the added appeal of Annalise’s input (as not many gals thrived in the original Outlaw scene). And with “Bat Shit Crazy,” Annalise gets a swell turn the spotlight, with the salty language of the title reinforcing the cowpunk angle, as do the album’s references to marijuana (“Even When”) and cocaine (cited along with the weed in “I Don’t Like the Liquor”).
In “When I’m Gone,” Neal comes swaggering back into the equation, as the song connects like one of greatest of all things: the sound of a great band stumbled onto by happenstance on a simple night out. And with “Roll That Chain,” The Waymores work a touch of gospel flavor into the proceedings leading into closer “Ode to the Animals,” which scales back to just voices and a guitar and boosts the intimacy with a tune loosely related to their EP’s finale “Dumb Old Dog.”
To bring it back to the cowpunk thing one more time, The Waymores get to the point in their songs, with the record’s first two cuts barely breaking two minutes apiece. This lean brevity is refreshing, sets them apart, and gives The Stone Sessions a boost in overall quality. You see, in trying to make a positive impression, even the most well-intentioned roots purveyors can linger a little too long inside a song and across a whole album.
Instead, Neal, Annalise and company just kick it into gear, get to the ever-loving point, and then ready themselves for the next song. Honky-tonk Americana, sure, but to these ears, it’s like The Waymores, across The Stone Sessions, are the honky-tonk Ramones or something.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
