Review Summary: Nashville-based blues singer-songwriter Adia Victoria crafts a subtly haunting and promising (if a bit safe) debut album.
Some context: I had the good fortune to see Nashville-based singer-songwriter Adia Victoria perform recently at Shaky Knees, a music festival in Atlanta, GA, and I was astounded at the haunting beauty of her performance. She’s a phenomenally effective risk-taker, stretching the limits of blues to their breaking point to achieve the painful affect she aims for. The glacial tempo and reverb-heavy guitars gave “Howlin’ Shame” (which she dedicated to Trayvon Martin) an almost dirge-like quality. The biting, distorted chords of “Head Rot” channeled the unadulterated fury of Victoria’s woman scorned. Topped off with her raspy, cracking, anguish-filled voice, it’s some of the bleakest blues you’ll ever hear, conveying perfectly the pain of living as a black woman in the South.
For anyone for whom a live show like that is their first exposure to Adia Victoria, her comparatively safer debut album,
Beyond the Bloodhounds, might be a bit disappointing. “Howlin’ Shame” has a less deliberate pace, “Head Rot” is more subdued, and overall the album isn’t as bold as Victoria’s live performance. It’s certainly an understandable decision. This being Victoria’s debut album, too many extreme, strange choices might alienate an audience that she’s still working to build. Still, there’s a part of me that wishes
Beyond the Bloodhounds displayed more of Victoria’s impressive range.
That said,
Beyond the Bloodhounds is still a great blues album, with enough interesting touches to make Adia Victoria stand out as a uniquely talented, creative, and passionate musician. The wonderfully energetic "Dead Eyes" builds to a fever pitch as Victoria's verses culminate in a repeated mantra of "I'm dead in the eyes." The complex interplay of guitars and keys on songs like “Out of Love” and “Sea of Sand” creates a fullness and momentum that propel the songs forward while making every moment intriguing and compelling. The subtle emptiness of “And Then You Die” and “Howlin’ Shame” evoke desolation and loss--until the former suddenly shifts into a rollicking climax with pounding fuzz of bass guitar. Victoria’s lyrics, about everything from heartbreak to Satan to the dangers of being black in the South, infuse deep pain with sardonic wit: “So you’re looking for something to make you feel anew/If you don’t believe in God, well, whiskey will do” (“Dead Eyes”); “Here’s a song for my friends, I hate every single one of y’all” (“Sea of Sand”); “I don’t know nothing ‘bout Southern belles, but I can tell you something ‘bout Southern hell” (“Stuck in the South”). The one element that stays most consistent from live show to studio recording is Victoria’s voice, a deeply haunting croon that perfectly completes the album’s subtly bleak sound. While we might have to wait until Victoria’s sophomore effort for an album that truly represents her talent and potential,
Beyond the Bloodhounds is an album well worth checking out from a promising new voice.
Recommended Tracks: Dead Eyes, Out of Love, Sea of Sand, And Then You Die, Howlin' Shame
