Rachel Baiman : Common Nation of Sorrow
Photo by Natia Cinco
Rachel Baiman provides an exquisite exploration and offers an assessment of the country’s current state. Telling stories of American capitalism: the individual and communal devastation it manifests. Baiman highlights these shared experiences along with the hope they will become a tool for activism. Wielding her art as activism to illuminate and influence the world to make it a better place. This alone is undeniably a worthy endeavor in and of itself and deserving of immense praise.
Regardless of where one aligns politically, I believe that there is a certain weight to this album which is deftly dealt with and felt throughout. Rachel Baiman’s voice reminds me of a hot cup of cider on a cold November day. Her delivery is sincere, heartfelt and soothing to the soul.
Baiman’s third LP, Common Nation Of Sorrow, was produced by herself, recorded at the Tractor Shed outside of Nashville with GRAMMY winner Sean Sullivan and mixed by famed engineer Tucker Martine (Neko Case, The Decemberists, First Aid Kit). This trio put together an absolute stunner. The music is intricately layered, arranged and mixed beautifully all the while accentuating the best of Baiman’s gifts. It will assuredly leave you wonderstruck.
I often provide a pithy quote to tie together how I feel about a record to transcend my words utilizing those from a more gifted author. My editor often reminds me that it is my job to provide that quote. Ironically, the quote for this piece is “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.” ~Theodore Roosevelt.
I offer this quote as one-part disclaimer and one-part warning. Politics can be a divisive topic, many either run to or away from something with the mere mention of political advocacy. I personally felt a certain way upon first reading the album description. Political songwriting or mixing politics with music in general, I admit upfront, is a hole in my swing. It may or may not be a hole in yours as well.
Don’t let descriptions or mentions of activism, politics and subversive bluegrass prevent you from purchasing, downloading, or listening to this album. Otherwise, I fear you will miss out on something truly awe inspiring and special.
Onward and upward.
I found Common Nation of Sorrow to be a tremendously remarkable record from the opening anthem to the last ballad. This album is a complete ethereal experience with all the trappings of an award winning caliber LP.
With every spin I found myself subconsciously bobbing my head, tapping my toes or fingers to the opening track, “Some Strange Notion.” No doubt you, too, will find yourself doing something similar. Near the end of “Some Strange Notion,” the song crescendos and blossoms wonderfully into what I am calling the grand welcoming precession that sort of serves as a homage to a medieval announcement, welcoming listeners to the record.
Without a doubt my favorite song on this album is “Lovers and Leavers.” It calls to me like a siren and refuses to let go. This song furnishes a masterclass performance that will certainly resonate with your innermost soul and extract your own unique personal emotions and feelings. Music has the insane ability to carry us wherever the heart desires regardless of where our mind tells us we ought to be. Rachel Baiman’s press release mentions, “that she wrote this song long before she knew what was going on in her brain and now she hears it back and thinks, wow that’s a song about bipolar disorder, which she disguised, even to herself at the time, as a love song.”
As Baiman sings “Lovers and Leavers,” I can feel her pain, agony, and sense the hole in her heart. This alone is worth the price of admission and worthy of giving this album a spin. So, you too can be transported and perhaps share in the surge of raw emotion. This song is deeply personal, honest, with a tinge of loneliness. Songs are able to take on different or multiple meanings. Depending on the person and or a particular mood.
“There must be some pill / I could take to forget / The way your body and my body met / Let me swallow it down / Like you swallowed me whole”
Anyone who has felt truly gutted from heartbreak would surely entertain taking something, anything, perhaps at times everything, simply to cease or ease the pain. What would one leave undone for a piece of momentary bliss? Equally, I can see that living with any type of mental or physical illness would extract a toll and what stone would you leave unturned for a cure or temporary reprieve?
The conviction and delivery of the lyric “There must be something?” at 2:06 plows right through my heart and gets me right in the feels every time.
To provide an idea of just how truly amazing this album is. It’s proving more difficult than it should be to narrow ten tracks down to my favorite three. Instead, I will simply point out three more songs I adore that have yet to be released as singles.
“She Don’t Know What to Sing About Anymore”
The picking, strumming of the guitar and banjo are brilliant, vibrant and alive despite the lyrics of the song. It seems to gain more energy the longer the song goes on.
“Old Songs Never Die”
Catchy, snappy, and full of zest. The song carries a powerful message that there are some things in life that are priceless and attainable by all.
“Best of life is something that you can hold in your own two hands / When the days get dark and blue these old songs will be there for you”
“Bitter”
A deeply haunting, honest and of course bitter portrayal. Baiman’s ability to strike deep and move your soul shines brightly during this tune. The guitar, maybe it’s a violin being plucked, is surreal and delicious to the ears.
“What makes life worth living should pay.” Art and activism, a political call to arms? Questioning the status quo? I don’t have answers. I do know that Rachel Baiman delivers an absolutely fantastic album worthy of our attention. Solid performance! For me, it was only highs! No middles and absolutely no lows!
Find out more about Rachel Baiman at the links below:
