Know what “bywater” means? Yer average dictionary says it’s an uncommon surname indicating that one’s ancestors lived “by the water”. Profound, eh? And yep, Bywater Call hail from Toronto, on the shores of Lake Ontario. But on the evidence of Shepherd, their spiritual home is closer to the waters of the Bayou, the Everglades, and Lake Pontchartrain.
The subtleties of songs like ‘Colours’ and ‘For All We Know’ carry hints of the Tedeschi Trucks Band. ‘Colours’ is a slow build, rootsy and with subtle waves of horns to go with the watery ripplings of keys from John Kervin – organ or Fender Rhodes? – while Meghan Parnell’s vocals
are patient but assertive. ‘For All We Know’ also opens in subdued mode, with rolling acoustic guitar lines underpinning Parnell’s contemplative, not-entirely-unlike-Susan-Tedeschi vocal. Then a couple of minutes in its shifts gear, adding clip-clopping drums, subtle slide remarks from Dave Barnes, and drifts of horns from Stephen Dyte (trumpet and valve trombone) and Julian Nalli (saxophones). Later on ‘Now And Never’ sets forth with rubber band bass from Mike Meusel and quirky percussion, and also evolves in a sashaying, funky TTB kinda direction, embellished by a squirrelling sax break and yelping trumpet from Dyte, though it goes on a bit in spite of further interjections.
But there’s also the stamp of New Orleans on several tracks, often triggered by those horns.‘Sweet Maria’ sounds like it has its roots in the chorus of the Stones' ‘Sweet Virginia’, but whereas the Stones track was all rag-tag-and-bobtail Americana, here we have pumped up, hand-clapping soul that’s undoubtedly catchy but could be just a bit generic if it weren’t for the slithering interventions and colourings from the horns that steer things in a NOLA direction. On ‘Roll’ piano and horns create a slinky vibe to begin with, Parnell’s voice easing around the backing in relaxed fashion, until the tune builds, the horns swelling and swirling, taking Parnell’s voice with them. The following ‘Turn It Around’ is initiated by tripping, jazzy drums, bumps of bass and stabs of guitar, but soon enough squealing, slippery horns arrive to give it echoes of New Orleans second-line funk, and there’s a clever segment of tinkling percussion to add an extra twinkle to its beer-fuelled, down-home rootsy sound.
On closing track ‘Sign Of Peace’ though, they burst out go of a ‘Try A Little Tenderness’-like solemn horn intro to go the whole tuba-parping, drum-paradiddling, N’Awlins-style hog, marching off down the road with Parnell out front delivering a gospellated vocal. Then a slowed down verse precedes jangling piano break and an even more uptempo eruption of hollering vocals, and Blues Brothers-worthy gospel-like backing vocals. In short, it’s joyous stuff.
They can rock a bit too, mind you, not least on the opening ‘Everybody Knows’. Led off by the crunching guitar riff from Dave Barnes, it’s got a punchy chorus that’s holler-ready for Parnell, but is also embroidered by tinkly piano and yelping slide remarks, plus a loose-limbed verse in readiness for some raucous closing competition between Barnes’ guitar and the vocal refrain.
‘Holler’ has a bluesier feel, with tickling guitar over a whomping kick drum as the foundation for a forthright vocal from Parnell, while groaning horns add a sense of menace until it rouses itself two-thirds of the way through, developing a cantering rhythm en route to a crunching finale.
‘As If’ takes a funkier turn, led by more low-twanging bass activity from Meusel and shuffling drums from Bruce McCarthy, who does a good job of bringing variety across the piece. A spiralling guitar riff devolves into funky wah-wah that collides with horn punctuation, while Meghan Parnell gets raunchy out front and Barnes’ squelchy guitar solo adds another funk element.
There’s a lot to enjoy on Shepherd, with plenty of soul in those horns and Meghan Parnell’s vocals, sympathetic keys and guitar from Kervin and Barnes, and a vibrant rhythm section in Meusel and McCarthy. Maybe the material could do with a few more killer-diller moments, and some of their quiet-to-loud builds are a mite predictable, though these are small gripes. But Bywater Call still provide a plenty-satisfying soundtrack to those Southern waterways.
Shepherd is out now and is available here in North America, and here in the UK and Europe.
The subtleties of songs like ‘Colours’ and ‘For All We Know’ carry hints of the Tedeschi Trucks Band. ‘Colours’ is a slow build, rootsy and with subtle waves of horns to go with the watery ripplings of keys from John Kervin – organ or Fender Rhodes? – while Meghan Parnell’s vocals
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| Bywater Call get immersed in joyous Southern sounds Pic by Denis Carpentier |
But there’s also the stamp of New Orleans on several tracks, often triggered by those horns.‘Sweet Maria’ sounds like it has its roots in the chorus of the Stones' ‘Sweet Virginia’, but whereas the Stones track was all rag-tag-and-bobtail Americana, here we have pumped up, hand-clapping soul that’s undoubtedly catchy but could be just a bit generic if it weren’t for the slithering interventions and colourings from the horns that steer things in a NOLA direction. On ‘Roll’ piano and horns create a slinky vibe to begin with, Parnell’s voice easing around the backing in relaxed fashion, until the tune builds, the horns swelling and swirling, taking Parnell’s voice with them. The following ‘Turn It Around’ is initiated by tripping, jazzy drums, bumps of bass and stabs of guitar, but soon enough squealing, slippery horns arrive to give it echoes of New Orleans second-line funk, and there’s a clever segment of tinkling percussion to add an extra twinkle to its beer-fuelled, down-home rootsy sound.
On closing track ‘Sign Of Peace’ though, they burst out go of a ‘Try A Little Tenderness’-like solemn horn intro to go the whole tuba-parping, drum-paradiddling, N’Awlins-style hog, marching off down the road with Parnell out front delivering a gospellated vocal. Then a slowed down verse precedes jangling piano break and an even more uptempo eruption of hollering vocals, and Blues Brothers-worthy gospel-like backing vocals. In short, it’s joyous stuff.
They can rock a bit too, mind you, not least on the opening ‘Everybody Knows’. Led off by the crunching guitar riff from Dave Barnes, it’s got a punchy chorus that’s holler-ready for Parnell, but is also embroidered by tinkly piano and yelping slide remarks, plus a loose-limbed verse in readiness for some raucous closing competition between Barnes’ guitar and the vocal refrain.
‘Holler’ has a bluesier feel, with tickling guitar over a whomping kick drum as the foundation for a forthright vocal from Parnell, while groaning horns add a sense of menace until it rouses itself two-thirds of the way through, developing a cantering rhythm en route to a crunching finale.
‘As If’ takes a funkier turn, led by more low-twanging bass activity from Meusel and shuffling drums from Bruce McCarthy, who does a good job of bringing variety across the piece. A spiralling guitar riff devolves into funky wah-wah that collides with horn punctuation, while Meghan Parnell gets raunchy out front and Barnes’ squelchy guitar solo adds another funk element.
There’s a lot to enjoy on Shepherd, with plenty of soul in those horns and Meghan Parnell’s vocals, sympathetic keys and guitar from Kervin and Barnes, and a vibrant rhythm section in Meusel and McCarthy. Maybe the material could do with a few more killer-diller moments, and some of their quiet-to-loud builds are a mite predictable, though these are small gripes. But Bywater Call still provide a plenty-satisfying soundtrack to those Southern waterways.
Shepherd is out now and is available here in North America, and here in the UK and Europe.
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