Review: Garrett and the Sheriffs – ‘Turn the Tide’
Bellingham’s Garrett and the Sheriffs owe much to the prolific northwest folk scene on their debut album Turn the Tide. Per their bio, the band was “born around a campfire,” and their youthful, summer camp vibe is clear, playing off the current roots revival scene, blending bluegrass, folk, and four-on-the-floor rock and roll. Though they’ve previously put out an 8-track EP and a 16-track live album, Garrett and the Sheriffs have now captured their soulful, organic sound in a tidy package.
The twelve-track album opens with the driving “I Feel a Change,” which shows off an up-tempo stomper that’s a storming introduction, followed by the swingier “Case Inlet,” and soon enough, you start to get a feel for their layered instrumentation and bluegrass strings provided by violinist Sarah Elder. Garrett Hendricks’ songwriting tends towards lyrics about friendship and boats, his clear enunciation a rarity in these days of vocal trickery.
“Gonna Forget You” pulls in a bit more of a scorned blues-man vibe, while maintaining the album’s pace. The five-minute-plus “Rowboat and the Trillium” takes it down a notch into plucking guitar balladry without loosing its catchy beat. Hendricks’ storytelling is on point, avoiding oh-so-trendy displays of vague poetics, from straightforward love stories to spiritual pleas. There are noticeable nods to the outdoors, most explicitly the sea, clearly a Pacific Northwest homage.
On “Maritime Zombie,” the band goes for a grittier, fuzzed-guitar turn, and while it’s nice to see them change it up, it feels a bit inauthentic surrounded by the clarity of the rest of the album. They land in the realm of The Barr Brothers, less weirdo rock than Langhorne Slim, more hi-fi than Iron & Wine.
This is backyard barbecue music – or rather beach bonfire – with catchy beats and singalong-ready lyrics. Try “Save Me” for a shuffle around the dance floor, and then slow it down with the soft closing duo “Wherever You Are” and “Distant Shore.” The harmonic ballad followed by the recorded ocean waves and stripped-down plucking offer a well-rounded case for a band that seems to have a good grip on what they have to offer.
(Turn the Tide is available for purchase via http://garrettandthesheriffs.bandcamp.com/album/turn-the-tide. Find Garrett and the Sheriffs at Tractor Tavern May 25th, with Mads Jacobsen and Bobby’s Oar. More information can be found at https://www.facebook.com/events/159122631148344/. Tickets are available at http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=6658845&pl=tractor.)
