Review: Chambers DesLauriers ‘Our Time to Ride’

Review: Chambers DesLauriers ‘Our Time to Ride’

By Hal Horowitz

Can you feel the love?

You will after spinning ‘Our Time to Ride,’ the second album from married duo Annika Chambers and guitarist Paul DesLauriers.

The follow-up to the twosome’s successful 2022 ‘Good Trouble’ album, the talented duo switches labels to producer/musician/songwriter Eric Corne’s Forty Below Records for ‘Our Time To Ride’. Additionally, this set smartly focuses on original compositions; all but one is a collaboration between them and Corne, the other written solely by the producer.

The combination of Chambers’ award winning, blistering vocals, DesLauariers’ similarly feted rootsy guitar work, along with Corne’s input as producer and co-composer, is a combustible, sympathetic and above all musically creative concoction.

These nine tracks recreate and often elevate the straightforward rootsy approach the couple reveled in on their previous release. Led by Chambers’ husky, gospel-infused voice, the full band, which includes horns and backing singers, is on fire for these nine sizzling tracks. Like Koko Taylor, anything she sings is bathed with passion, intensity and heartfelt feelings. While some may find lyrics of “Keep an open heart/and open mind/take care of each other” in “People Gonna Talk,” or titles such as “Believe in Love,” one-dimensional, Chambers delivers them with such persuasive and earthy energy that they feel sincere and genuine.

Corne keeps shifting the mood, letting both artists room to strut in the spotlight. The throbbing New Orleans boogie of “In the Heart of the Night” allows DesLauriers’ scorching guitar to lead the band through their rollicking paces. The slithery funk of “Temperature of One-O-Nine” inspires Chambers to slip into sultry, sexed-up mode (“You know you got my engine all so primed” she asserts) as horns blurt behind her. These show the vibe evolving through various permutations of their blues-baked sound.

DesLauriers’ pulls out his slide for the Little Feat-inspired title track as Chambers bellows about being blunt with your feelings “It’s time to make a choice/You’ve got to use your voice” she sings as the tune chugs along with locomotive momentum.

They pull into Creedence Clearwater terrain for the choogling “Written in the Stars,” one of a handful of marital bliss avowals that pepper the playlist as Chambers declares “Don’t ever leave me/I’ll never leave you…we will be together.” This could devolve into sappiness, but her roaring, throaty attack and the music’s taut rawness make it appealing and even endearing. Lovebirds alert:it’s a perfect choice for weddings and romantic declarations.

Corne’s sole composition, ‘Sing,” is the disc’s physical and philosophical centerpiece. Chambers encourages listeners to “Sing for the silent/Sing for the suffering” as a slow, repeated blues riff hammers the point, balancing religious fervor and social consciousness with the commitment that implies. DesLauriers’ stinging strings extend the tune as he combines crashing chords with furious single note runs.

The closing “One in a Million,” the set’s only duet, features the guitarist’s rare vocal. It’s a natural choice as both affirm their affection for the other with sweetly simmering love. “He’s got movie star looks…She’s got that fire that lights up the night” they volley back and forth. DesLauriers’ nimble lines bring adoration and positivity to a stellar collection of shimmering yet insistent songs.

It’s impossible not to feel the love.

“People Gonna Talk”