Hands down, Ray LaMontagne is one of the best kept secrets in music. Influenced by Richard Manuel and Rick Danko of The Band and Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, LaMontagne is best know for his soft-spoken demeanor and raspy voice. His new album, Gossip in the Grain, is no stray from that signature sound. Produced by Ethan Johns, the mastermind behind Gold and Heartbreaker by Ryan Adams and On My Way by Ben Kweller, Gossip in the Grain proves to be his “most creative and emotionally expansive collection to date,” according to LaMontagne himself. This is a pretty bold statement, considering just how emotionally charged Trouble and Till The Sun Turns Black, LaMontagne’s previous two album’s, also produced by Johns, were. 
The album itself, a medley of strings, acoustic guitar and brass, reminds me more of a classic rock album than that of one in the genre of indie. In all actuality, this album is far more Van Morrison than Bright Eyes. The album’s opening track “You Are the Best Thing” in fact, borders on being a comfortable fit in the Motown scene. Featuring an handful of blasting, Memphis style horn work, LaMontagne kick starts Gossip in the Grain in an upbeat and uncharacteristically positive manner. Surprisingly enough, however, he walks this line of change in a fairly effective manner.
Not to sway completely from the melancholy that has fueled his career for three albums now, “Sarah,” named after his wife, serves as a collection of pleasant memories, followed by a confession of angst and anger, resulting in the abandonment of those people and things in which the narrator finds comfort in. Upon the realization that these acts might leave him painfully alone, he asks of his wife, “Sarah, is it ever going to be the same?” composing one of the most heart-felt and candid emotional moments on an album. LaMontagne continues pulling on the heartstrings with “Winter Birds.” LaMontagne’s voice is the focus as this track is stripped of almost all instrument save for a dusting of acoustic guitar strums.
The next few songs are LaMontagne’s most playful to date. In a silly love song tribute to the bashful Meg White of The White Stripes, LaMontagne sings, “Meg White, you’re alright. I think you’re pretty special can’t you tell?” The opening guitar ironically opens with a variation of the melody from the White Stripes’ single “Conquest.” This song is followed by the blues grass number, “Hey Me, Hey Mama.” This banjo-plucking number peaks with a fun muted trumpet solo.
The album closes with the beautiful regret-filled “A Falling Through.” Guitar slides and the gentle vocals of Leona Naess support LaMontagne on this number. Naess again joins on LaMontagne on title track and album closer “Gossip in the Grain.” With the character of the “old crow” and the moral in the last line, “Truth be: the beggar that holds his tongue, dines on none, none but air alone,” this is what an Aesop’s fable would be if put into a song with flute and violin.
Gossip in the Grain is available now.
Tracklisting:
01. You Are The Best Thing
02. Let It Be
03. Sarah
04. I Still Care For You
05. Winter Birds
06. Meg White
07. Hey Me, Hey Mama
08. Henry Nearly Killed Me (It’s A Shame)
09. A Falling through
10. Gossip In The Grain
Ray LaMontagne: website | myspace
Co-Written by: Joshua and Bethany
