These are songs examining human
experience with a balanced eye rather than making hay from its despair alone.
Abby Zotz’s Local Honey never overindulgences listener’s good
graces and the focus Zotz brings to exploring those themes makes this
songwriting an even more invigorating experience. The extensive history she has
working in folk and traditional music traditions has primed her to branch off
from its narrow purist formula and make something unique from its inherent
strengths. There are a number of effective turns throughout the album, never
filling any one song too heavily, and varying from song to song. “Stability”
has fewer of those moments than many of the later songs, but it gets Local
Honey off to a solid start and builds momentum that sustains listeners
all the way until the end. The smooth, gliding beauty of Zotz’s vocal
performance is one of its most remarkable moments.
“Stability” gives this album an
effortless uplift from the first and the orchestration of its various musical
elements proves to be a well shaped frame for its writing. The songwriting
explores a familiar theme, but she weaves it together in her own language
without regard for past songs covering the same area. You can hear, in the
space of one song, the passion she has for this material. The next song “Big
Hope” carries that to another level and it’s tailored well to the expanded
possibilities of its arrangement. The organ playing running throughout the song
even takes a moment in the spotlight with a brief solo and sets this song far
apart from the other material on Local Honey. It may be my peak
moment for the album.
The growl of electric guitar and organ embellishments disappear
as soon as they arrive, but we’re rewarded with the near 180 turn into the
gospel trappings of “Peace Sweet Peace”. There’s no preaching in this tune,
instead, it’s a heartfelt cry, and Zotz gives herself over to the song with
just the right amount of commitment. The later tune “All Through the Night” has
a distinctly old fashioned melodic flavor, but the venerable swing of the vocal
melody and its accompanying piano hooks me in to follow along. There’s a
cinematic quality to the way the piano leads us, heads up, through emotional
tailwinds elegantly stated throughout. “See Your Face” is an abrupt shift and
has a much stronger commercial pop edge, but it never takes short cuts or
relies on overly obvious melodies.
“You’ll Never Know” has a retro feel,
bluesy without ever laying it on too thick and Zotz delivers a stylized vocal
throughout every line. There’s a light amount of humor running through the
song, but it’s balanced well against a strongly human element in the writing
and performance alike. Local Honey brings the extent of Abby
Zotz’s talents into keener focus than any of her previous work and shows she’s
one of the best singer/songwriters working in the traditional/Americana music
scene today. It’s not difficult to imagine this solo debut represents the first
chapter of a rewarding new phase in her musical career.
Zachary Rush
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