Amythyst Kiah – Wary + Strange
Rounder Records – 18 June 2021
Wary + Strange isn’t just the title of Amythyst Kiah’s new album, it’s also the way she looked at the world. Growing up gay in Chattanooga, Tennessee wasn’t easy, but it got even harder when Kiah went to East Tennessee University in the more provincial Johnson City. While this may have set back her coming out, it also gave her more time to figure out exactly who she was. She studied bluegrass music largely because it didn’t require learning to read music. From there she was off and running.
One of the pivotal moments in her career came when “Black Myself” was nominated for a Grammy in 2019. While she had recorded the song with her bandmates in Our Native Daughters (Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla and Allison Russell), Kiah also knew she wanted to make a recording of the song more reflective of who she was. But like most of the recordings on Wary + Strange, the process to the final version wasn’t easy. Over the course of three years, she recorded the album three different times. It wasn’t until Tony Berg came on board as producer that things began to take shape.
As Kiah notes, “I knew I needed to work with Tony when he came in with a bass harmonica to use instead of a bass [guitar] and then got out the Mellotron and added a flute line at the chorus” of “Fancy Drones (Fracture Me).” Recording with Wendy Melvoin and Blake Mills on guitars, bassist Gabe Noel and pedal steel player Rich Hinman, the recordings started taking on new dimensions. The vibe on “Black Myself” is much more electric and electrifying, Instead of the mid-tempo acoustic original, the song rocks out, more of a definition of who Kiah is, “I don’t pass the test of the paper bag/ ‘Cause I’m black myself/ I pick the banjo up and they sneer at me/ ‘Cause I’m black myself/ You better lock your doors when I walk by/ ‘Cause I’m black myself.” There’s a grit to the song that makes it more of a demarcation of who Kiah is today.
Yet for every moment where songs seem to rock out, there are other moments that harken back to a more folk-oriented format. One that has more than a bit of edge to it, “Wild Turkey” deals with her mother’s suicide when Kiah was just 17. “Wild turkey in the car seat / The bottle’s empty, I hope it gave her some relief.” Opening the album, “Soapbox” floats on acoustic guitars, yet the lyrics paint a very different picture, “Don’t wanna hear your soapbox speech / Don’t wanna know how you would do it / Don’t wanna know how it should be / ’Cause I don’t care what you think.”
Amythyst Kiah has found a way to live in a world without restrictions. She is, at the end the day, an artist who goes her own way, which is what gives Wary + Strange the qualities that make it a truly great album from an artist who refuses to dwell in a world of limitations.
Wary + Strange is out now on Rounder Records
Photo Credit: Sandlin Gaither