I’ve been a fan of Colter Wall since a friend of mine introduced me to his eponymous album, “Colter Wall.” That collection had some very strong songs like Kate McCannon and Bald Butte. And in general, that was a big album. This month I got ahold of his album called “Little Songs.” And that is surely an honest title. The longest title clocks in at 4:32 and the shortest is 2:25. And more than that, none of these songs is big in its impact. They’re quiet, almost subdued.
They’re of the western genre in the country/western alliance and they have the understated manner of the modest inhabitants of the Great Plains, especially the northern expanse of the plains in Canada where Colter Wall hails from. We hear about ranchers and cowboys and farmers and their work and their romances and their blues. But there’s no shouting unless you count a little yodeling in one song.
So, this isn’t a collection to get you all stirred up. It’s quiet and small. I’m a fan of colter Wall so I’ll add these songs to my MP3 player and they’ll leaven my collection of country music with some of the softer notes that provide a counterweight to all the fussing’ and shouting’ that some of my other songs provide. Your mileage. of course, may vary.