August York: Swimming Upstream
  
Swimming Upstream
Review by: Emma Jade Gunn
After one certain Beverly Hillbillies TV marathon, it took me ten years to stop saying, "Well, doggies!" Now I have to go right back and say it again. Why, you ask, would I do that? Ah, my friends, it's simple. No. Really. It is. (In spite of many of you thinking, sure, Emmie makes things simple ... not!)
You see, I've been listening to a CD called Swimming Upstream. Well, I do a lot of swimming upstream, but that's not why I have joyfully - make that gleefully - embraced "Well, doggies!" again. Remember the look of pure and simple pleasure Buddy Ebsen, aka Jed Clampett, had on his face every time he said, "Well, doggies?" Sure, it came out more like, "waay, dahgees," but we all knew old Jed was one happy dude when he let loose with that little phrase. And, right now, I am one happy country-meets-city dudette!
 August York is the musical equivalent of Texas Tea, or, to be more accurate, Nashville Mule. You have to love a country bar serving up a rootin' tootin' mix of ginger beer, fresh lime and whiskey - or vodka, gin, tequila, rum, or scotch. Apparently Texas has oily tea, but in Music City, USA, you get what you want any way you want it. And that, Ta Da, is why I'm "Well, Doggies!" agape for the dynamic duo of McKendree and Rachel Tucker.
Yes, they're country. Yes, they're city. Yes, they're all that and put a cherry on top because this twosome rocks it and socks it out of Herschel Greer Stadium like a homer off the bat of a Sounds hard hitter. Uh, yeah, Nashville is so dedicated to music their baseball team is named the Nashville Sounds! You can't tune in any bigger than that ... which brings me to August York again. They're from Nashville. They play folk/pop. And they'll pop the socks right off of you, folks.
There are eleven tracks on August York's Swimming Upstream CD. They range across a fantastic spectrum of sound. I picked a few to show you what I mean because, well, doggies, that's all the time I've got since I'm planning to spend the next four days drinking Mules and playing this CD over and over and over again. Yeah. I am.
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Come to Paris - Remember I told you how they make me feel like a country/city chick? Here's the city girl, strolling the streets of the The City of Light. We aren't talking about Paris, Idaho here - although that's kind of a cool place, I surmise. Oh, no, this song brings the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and lovers strolling Montmartre in Claude Monet's footprints. Come to Paris is beautifully played. The voices are as fluid as the Seine. The instrumentals amp the whole track up a notch to firmly plant it in the land of paradise. "Come to Paris, you will see all the beauty, all the wonderful things." Or, hey, listen to the song and "you may never want to leave Paree." Yes, "once you spend some time with me," you're going to feel great and isn't that what a song is all about? Evoking emotion and pleasure? You got it! Both vibrant and quick, it nonetheless remains romantic. Merveilleuxeuse!
Weeping Willow - McKendree absolutely sparkles on Weeping Willow. When he belts out, "I need you to know, I won't let you go," I felt it all of the way down in the center of my heart. FanYorkTabulous! "I will fight for you," he sings in response to Rachel's plaintive words, "Those were hard things for me to hear." If anyone ever shows as much depth as McKendree, grab them. They're keepers. There's an otherworldly instro beginning to set off this song about making mistakes and trying to make it right again. It's a universal pain, misery at a feverish pitch. The ethereal instruments and Rachel's voice elevate the entire song to enchantment, as if McKendree isn't enchanting enough as it is. I'll never be able to sit under another weeping willow tree again without hearing this song playing again in my mind. Divine.
Still Young - Wow! Dig that opening! Now here is the be-all, end-all of instruments making the lyrics soar to the moon! Then we get to hear Rachel's incredible voice. She is a sprinkle-of-rain-on-red-rosebuds fantastic. "I want you so bad." Yeah, I want this song to play on and on so bad. "Hold hands tightly, I don't want this to pass." It's the love of the very young, when everything is bigger than life. August York pulls this track along with symphonious harmony. Their voices meld and melt. Every part is as smooth as milk and yummy as fudge. I have to say it, I could eat this stuff up forever!
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"Well, doggies!" That about does it - except you really do need some Nashville Mule, a trip to see the Sounds, a CD from August York and a big supply of grins. You see, Swimming Upstream is one of the coolest I've heard. Like Jed said, "Ya see, Granny was honin' for some gopher gravy. I went down to the slue to shoot one, but just as I cut loose, that little varmint skedaddled, and oil come a oozin' outta that slue just like sorghum out of a leaky hog trough. That's how I made my fortune." I kinda suppose McKendree and Rachel are going to make a fortune, too. With chops like they've got, it's just a matter of time before their folk/pop tunes make everyone smile like ol' Jed. So skedaddle on down to the store and get you some honest music - August York!
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| August York: Swimming Upstream??? |
| 01)??Come to Paris |
August York |
3:59 |
| 02)??Alright Already |
August York |
3:34 |
| 03)??Young |
August York |
3:24 |
| 04)??Lets Go |
August York |
2:58 |
| 05)??Waterside |
August York |
3:19 |
| 06)??Upstream |
August York |
4:06 |
| 07)??Weeping Willow |
August York |
4:08 |
| 08)??Bayonet |
August York |
4:07 |
| 09)??Grow (Come On) |
August York |
2:21 |
| 10)??Loving You |
August York |
2:58 |
| 11)??Still Young (Reprise) |
August York |
3:24 |
Producer: Mitch Dane
Engineer: Mike Fahey
Mastering Engineer: Matthew Odmark
Recorded at Sputnik Sound Nashville, TN
Duplication: New Life Digital Media
Photography & Design: Victor Huckabee
August York  2013 All Rights Reserved and all
publishing to Augustas IV Publishing (ASCAP)
Musicians: McKendree Tucker - guitar, piano, keys, brass, percussion, synth, snaps
Dustin Ransom - mandolin, drums, guitar, accordion, piano, keys, bells
Josh Pantana - acoustic and electric guitar
Kevin Whitsett - bass
Paul Eckberg - drums, percussion
Andrew Osenga - acoustic and electric guitar
David Henry - cello, violin, viola
Mitch Dane - bells, synth, tambourine, omnichord
Lead Vocals: Rachel Tucker & McKendree Tucker
BGV: Victor Huckabee, Mitch Lee, Andrew Visser, GraceAnn Visser, Sam Franjione, Brendan Kelly and Mike Fahey |
August York
augustyork.com
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Review by: Emma Jade Gunn
? Emma Jade Gunn 2014
All Rights Reserved
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