Album Review: Daniel Romano’s Sleep Below the Willow is a modern classic
Only once in a blue moon does a song jolt you like a thunderclap and grab your full attention on the first listen. Daniel Romano achieved that with ”Time Forgot (To Change My Heart),” the opening track of Sleep Below the Willow, his second solo full-length. Thankfully, the electricity doesn’t stop after the first song in this country/folk instant classic.
To say that he is a musician’s musician would be an understatement. Sleep Beneath the Willow was released by You’ve Changed Records, Romano’s own imprint, and the album was also produced, engineered and recorded by Romano himself. His solo accomplishments only add to the already sizable acclaim that he’s received as part of Attack in Black and Daniel, Fred, and Julie.
Throughout the 11-song foray into loves come and gone, Sleep Beneath the Willow exudes a warm glow. Instrumentally, the marriage of guitar, pedal steel, fiddle, banjo and organ lay the perfect setting for the vocalists’ exquisite four-part harmonies. Romano’s rumbling bass is complemented flawlessly by Misha Bower (Bruce Peninsula), Tamara Lindeman (The Weather Station) and Lisa Bozikovic, leaving listeners with tingles.
I fell in love at first listen. But whether you’re weeping from the gorgeous ode that is “Louise,” kicking up your heels to “Hellen’s Restaurant” or clapping along with the audience in live-recorded closer “Nothing,” Daniel Romano is going to have your undivided attention for the duration of this beautiful album. And that’s a good thing.
You can buy Sleep Beneath the Willow here or at your local record store.
