Nonzero Records

This Portland, Oregon band has definitely made a splash in the Americana scene and is known for character driven songwriting set to rootsy rock backing, fleshed out by pedal steel and vocals sometimes evoking Harvest era Neil Young. This song cycle plays out like an indie film, grainy black and white shots of losers, loners and other travelers, complete with verbal postcards from the main protagonist. Is all hope lost for these young n’eer do wells? According to the song Polaroid ” not everyone gives up, or is beaten or robbed, or always stoned”. Depending on your life situation, this may be small comfort and difficult listening, though the evocative tunes and lyrics suggest this is a band to watch. The question is do the songs play out on their own, minus the thematic elements. Well, in the case of the rocking “Through” or the afore mentioned “Polaroid”, the answer is yes. Not for everyone , this recording may be one you save for a rainy day or a melancholy drive.

http://www.last.fm/music/Richmond+Fontaine/Post+to+Wire

Portland, Oregon’s Uncle Tupelo torch carriers Richmond Fontaine find their own voice and pen sorrowful tales of life and decline in the process. Their forth full-length, Winnemucca, and first for upstart El Cortez Records, finds the band shelving the rock for a while, further exploring their darkest side, as they did for half of 2000’s Lost Son.

Front man Willy Vlautin’s story-telling angle always leaves you with a tear in your eye. He takes you down a road of losers, boozers, and the troubled, as you both examine their lives and try to find some meaning in their existence, before the character gives up on you and falls back into the bottle.

Album opener “Winner’s Casino” is as upbeat as Richmond Fontaine gets in the lyrical department. You follow a man to Winnemucca and Winner’s Casino, where he wants to be left alone, as it is the only place he can clear his head and feel like he is on the rise. As Vlautin puts it, “It seems like the only place I know where nothing’s in decline/ ‘Cause there’s nothing to do but rise”. As lost as that may seem for some, to the character in Vlautin’s short story-song, it is the only thing that makes sense.

Vlautin may be the ringleader and the engine that drives Richmond Fontaine, but he is not the only component. Richmond Fontaine is a true collective, with Vlautin’s lyrics and voice in need of bassist Dave Harding, drummer Sean Oldham, and pedal steel/mandolin/dobro/electric guitar player Paul Brainard to make you feel the songs in your heart and gut.

“Glisan Street” will have you in tears with the instrumentation alone, Vlautin’s acoustic guitar weeping itself, and the rhythm section of Harding and Oldham adding an eerie trickle, while Brainard’s pedal steel puts the finishing touch on you. Then Vlautin’s voice and story comes along and you’re all but gone, struggling with the bottle yourself to cope with the pain of someone else’s life, possibly a character Vlautin made up. It doesn’t matter though, they’re as real as you and I when you’re listening to the song.

http://www.last.fm/music/Richmond+Fontaine/Winnemucca