In the annuls of folk exploration, no modern pairing has explored the outrageous and the traditional quite like Matt Valentine and Erika Elder. The variety of sounds, styles, and effects Valentine and Elder have mined to create their monstrous creations are infinite. This cornucopia is ever-present on the duo’s latest, Barn Nova, which introduces a hefty amount of country spice in MV + EE’s psychedelic stew.
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Barn Nova will be immediately familiar to fans of classic Neil Young and Crazy Horse. The album packs the sort of distorted soul and aromatic guitar work that has forever been Shakey’s calling card. Of course, in the hands of an equally skilled guitarist and visionary such as Matt Valentine—and paired with the fragile tones and silky slides of Erika Elder, The album is gnarly, transforming country ethos in tie-dyed waves all while toning down the overarching experimentalism that has littered many of MV + EE’s limited releases. The fat’s been trimmed for Barn Nova and the album’s better for it.
Fans may be a bit afraid to find that tucked inside of Barn Nova are songs that could be considered ‘radio friendly,’ but as the stigma boldly implies, these gems couldn’t be more potent if bogged down by the spectrasound that has come to be the calling card of Matt Valentine’s production. The groovy blues and catchy drum beat of “Get Right Church” feels like a new creation in the hands of Valentine and Elder. “Wandering Nomad” has all the crunch of “Down By the River” but filters it through a slow jam; the announcement that the party’s winding down but the good times are still to be had. “Fully Tanked” would feel at home on an adult alternative station just as it does on a dusty back porch with its greasy slide and rustic folk melody providing lazy Sunday rapture.
Don’t be alarmed by the subtle shift in the dynamic of MV + EE’s structure. Much of the fuss that often clouded past releases is still to be found, though it’s easier to find your way to the end through the fog. There are plenty of heavy jams that will stir the soul and expand the mind, such as the eleven-minute psych-country opus, “Bedroom Eyes.” Contrails of guitar cascade over the twang-filled melody to illicit the sort of sexy looks the title implies.
Despite the noticeable deviation from the norm, Barn Nova is just as comfortable and pleasing as any MV + EE of recent memory. Valentine and Elder continue to reinvent folk through devices old and new and as long as the results match the whimsical personalities and avant inventions of albums past there’s no shaking their devout audience no matter how close they fly to commercially friendly skies.
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