In October of 2018, after touring the world behind a Billboard number two album and the chart-topping
Cleopatra as a member of
the Lumineers, cellist/singer
Neyla Pekarek announced that she was parting ways with the Grammy-nominated Americana group. Three months later, she presents the
M. Ward-produced
Rattlesnake, her solo debut. The album was written on tours that included opening stadium shows for
U2. It may come as a surprise to many, then, that
Rattlesnake retreats from anthems, percussive rhythms, and even modern times. A concept album inspired by Colorado historical figure "Rattlesnake Kate" Slaughterback, the album's lyrics transport listeners to rural life in the first half of the 20th century, with songs inspired by horses, trains, romantic pen pals, and old-fashioned gumption. Opener "Train" sets the scene with evocative train-whistle harmonies, a bright melody, and a celebratory, saloon-appropriate arrangement of piano, low strings, and drum kit, establishing a classic vocal-era sensibility that permeates the record. Rattlesnake Kate's legend dates back to 1925, when she reportedly killed 140 rattlesnakes -- first with a gun, then with a handy sign -- to protect her three-year-old son, who was nearby on horseback. The tale is addressed on second track "The Attack," a dramatic folk narrative underscored by an ostinato. Another part of Kate's story is 40 years' worth of love letters that she exchanged with Colonel Charles D. Randolph, whom she never met. Vocalist Brian Cronan is featured as the Colonel on two tracks, including the yearning piano duet "Letters to the Colonel" and the Cronan entry "I'm a Scoundrel," an early R&B-styled ballad with melodic electric guitar. (The latter is an early example of using the word "mansplain" in song.) Elsewhere, the slinky "Better Than Annie" captures the essence of frontier nostalgia and celebrity as well as addressing gender equality via the topic of Annie Oakley.
Pekarek's vocal melodies are warm, crystalline, and theatrical throughout, so though the songs are hard to imagine in the context of contemporary pop playlists, they seem perfectly suited for the stage musical she was commissioned to develop from the album. ~ Marcy Donelson