Hymn for Her’s blurb states that the band is comprised of Lucy Tight & Wayne Waxing, a band that hails from anywhere they can park their trailer. The misspelled title Amairican Stream refers to a Bambi Airstream trailer, upon which the entire album was recorded, using a diverse range of instruments, such as a three-stringed broom handle/cigar box, banjo, dobro, bass drum, hi-hat, and harp.
Sounds like an elaborate joke! However it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. Lucy Tight and Wayne Waxing are the alter egos of Maggi Jane and Pierce Ternay, two thirds of the Philadelphia based folk trio Maggi, Pierce & E.J. They do appear to have a 1961 Bambi Airstream trailer, but whether it was suitable for recording in is another matter.
What certainly isn’t a joke, however, are the twelve tracks of bluegrass and blues boogie that they produce. The album gets off to a cracking start with ‘Slips’; a catchy country/blues about the losses one suffers in life:
“Well I wanna go home, but I got no home, Wanna make love but I got no love/ Wanna go back but the past is gone”.
This is a terrific romp and stomp, which chugs along brilliantly with the wry observation that “All I had just slips away”.
‘Grave’ which follows is a blues boogie with a punchy stop start rhythm, a nice line in fuzz guitar, and some witty lines: -
“Another week has come and gone. Where did it go? I keep moving on”, and talks about the materialism of the no-hopers: “What good is God if you still want more.”
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‘Not’ is a haunting torch song carried along by a celeste melody and the main vocals being carried by Lucy, with some nice harmonies by Wayne. The song covers the age-old problem of being in love with someone who doesn’t reciprocate:
“I love you, but you don’t hear me. I hold you but you don’t feel me”.
What raises this song above others like it is that it comes across as sensitive without falling into parody: “Your heart is not mine”.
Whilst there is not a duff track on the album, other standout points for me were: -
‘Here’ a blues rocker with a nice simplicity to the lyrics.
“I just need a simple touch to get me through the day”, and ‘Thursday’ which is the only song on the album not written by this duo, being a cover of the Morphine song, but the band give it their own treatment so that it doesn’t seem at all out of place.
Hymn For Her, check the album out and see them live. Coming to a trailer park near you!
Hymn For Her on Myspace
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