High Water or Hell (EP - 2024)
High Water or Hell," the new EP from Chicago's The Long Farewells, out on Beartrap Spring Records on May 28, 2024, is the first multi-song release from the band since their 2019 debut album Only the Stars." That record, produced by the founding duo of vocalist Gabrielle Schafer and multi-instrumentalist Aaron Rester, tended toward the folkier side of the Americana genre. On "High Water or Hell," though, the band (now a quintet) explores a greatly expanded sonic palette.
There are elements of classic country, like the lap steel-drenched high and lonesome harmonies of "Shade of Sad," as well as a cover of the Hank Williams classic "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" (though the latter leans much more into the anger that can bubble under the surface of loneliness than the original). "Two Crows" is a dose of swampy noir reminiscent of The Handsome Family's Southern Gothic mode, while "Just Another Song (About Love Gone Wrong)" is a toe-tapping, knee-slapping nod toward Texas swing. The jangly but morose guitar of "Bottle Was The Message" recalls 80s alternative like REM and the Smiths, with a bridge that might well be worthy of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir." Finally, the title track is a high-energy, bluesy ode to New Orleans.
Throughout the EP, the original numbers highlight the lyrical acumen of Rester's songwriting, and all of the recordings showcase the haunting harmonies of Schafer and backing vocalist Kate Krajci, as well as the soaring improvisational fiddle work of Rick Veras. All of it rests on the solid foundation of Nate Lindsey's bass and Rester's guitars.
Overall, High Water or Hell is a strong step forward for a band with a diverse and unique vision of Americana, that will be enjoyed by fans of artists like Hurray for the Riff Raff, Plains, and Cowboy Junkies.
If It Ain't Christmas
(Single - 2022)
“I’m really not a fan of most Christmas music,” says Long Farewells songwriter Aaron Rester. “There’s something about the holidays that brings out the maudlin in even the most talented songwriters. So I wanted to challenge myself to see if I could tell a story about the type of holiday that no one wants to have, but almost all of us do at some point.” Both sad and funny, like the best of classic country, "If It Ain't Christmas" winks at the cliches without falling prey to them, and still feels right at home next to "Blue Christmas" on any holiday playlist.
Only the Stars
(Album - 2019)
On their debut album—named after a line from a 1918 Carl Sandburg poem—The Long Farewells craft starkly rendered snapshots of familiar and strange characters from the 1910s, from an an axious lover on the World War I homefront to Frank Lloyd Wright burying his murdered mistress, from a small town about to be flooded by the construction of a dam to an engineer barreling toward a doomed circus train, and beyond. In their trademark style of unearthing the beauty in tragedy, singer Gabrielle Schafer and multi-instrumentalist Aaron Rester have created a haunting portrait of America at a time of creative destruction that echoes our own.
“The songs and recordings are fabulous.” - Murry Hammond of The Old 97’s
“A fine album with lyrics to pique your interest and imagination... pleasingly literate songs with stories to tell.” - AmericanaUK
"Amazing." - Chicago Acoustic Underground
"['Johnny Went off to War'] is a historically-inspired (although it could be about any war at any time, the mark of a true folk song) folk song with a tragic ending. The arrangement is spartan but effective, and the female vocals are strong." - Independent Clauses
"Proper old-fashioned folk... they're trying to keep something alive, and I think they're doing it well." - You Haven't Heard This Music Podcast