Artist: Steve Almaas
Album: Everywhere You’ve Been
Label: Lonesome Whippoorwill
Release Date: 5.7.21
True love is found in the utterly charming “You’re the One for Me,” which shows up on Everywhere You’ve Been with a bouquet of flowers in hand. Flush with all the giddy innocence of new romance, the song is a soft, slow goodnight kiss of sparkling roots-pop, drawn closer by sly hooks and pulling away with a sweet smile. Its intentions are pure, as are those of Steve Almaas on this, his easygoing, exceedingly likeable sixth solo album.
Unlikely to be issued any citations for disturbing the peace, its unhurried, lighthearted Americana so warm and inviting, Everywhere You’ve Been bears little resemblance to the rambunctious, full-throttle noisemaking of Almaas’s trailblazing Suicide Commandos, who probably first introduced the Twin Cities to punk rock. Nor does it share much in common with the clean, jangly country-rock of Beat Rodeo, formed by Almaas in the ‘80s. Even the swinging, upbeat rockabilly of “Someway, Somehow, Somewhere” is more reminiscent of Ricky Nelson than anything released since “Garden Party,” while a brighter “Bred in the Bone” is pure Rockpile pub-rock and the spare, lovely duet “Down by the Lake” hopelessly falls for gently played ukulele. Such dewy-eyed devotion won’t last forever, though.
Dark, sweeping elegance, painted with delicate acoustic strumming, brushes of undulating pedal steel and deep strokes of rich baritone guitar, frames the agonizing breakup of “Goodbye Nicolina,” with Almaas harmonizing beautifully with Daria Grace and Vibeke Saugestad and the three feeling Jayhawks-like breezes on their faces. Their blended vocals are just as stunning while caught in the captivating sway of the country-tinged title track, whereas the wistful mariachi blare of “The Way I Treated You” – tarred and feathered with regret – yearns for a second chance, “Cigarettes, Coffee, or You” is aglow with jumpy, old-timey buoyancy, and a spirited, up-tempo “1955” rolls on like a big train, powered by feverish locomotive energy.
What Almaas does here is he simplifies the math of love, which doesn’t have to tear us apart. It can be kind and tender, but it can also make someone die a little inside. Almaas is keenly aware of its traps, and his assured songwriting, so generous and open-hearted, is mature enough to handle rejection, but its moments of childlike wonder and joy are healing. Just don’t get so lost in the timeless melodies, exquisitely diverse arrangements and traditional sounds of Everywhere You’ve Been that you miss the tricky, zipping guitar parts and other instrumental flashes of brilliance of Kenny Vaughn, Jon Graboff and Mitch Easter, and Almaas, too.
—Peter Lindblad
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