Review: Bywater Call ‘Sunshine’
By Hal Horowitz
Canada is over 1000 miles away from New Orleans and the US South, but that hasn’t stopped the members of Bywater Call absorbing those American influences.
The band’s three albums reflect this country’s soulful rocking with such sincerity that those unacquainted with the group’s Canadian origins won’t realize where they were born and raised.
Borrowing their Bywater name from a historic neighborhood in New Orleans’ 9th Ward also muddies the waters. Frontwoman/vocalist Meghan Parnell even dips into a bit of sly country twang, tempered with a tough churchy attitude that connects with her strutting, tough-gal style.
Bywater Call’s studio sets reflect the seven piece’s muscular songwriting craftsmanship, perhaps at the risk of restricting the focus of their instrumental prowess. On the live ‘Sunshine,’ released August 22, however, the emphasis is on how their blues/rock/soul/funky repertoire takes a more free-wheeling, jam-oriented slant. The average song length is nearly eight minutes, with two tracks running over nine.
Add the natural energy generated on stage for a fun, frisky, often funky 45 minutes that delivers and expands on their originals. The fine-tuned playing displays how organically the members bounce off each other, trading licks without anyone hogging the spotlight.
That’s especially the case on “As If” where Stephen Dye’s trumpet and Dave Barnes’ guitar spur each other to sweltering solos that could not be created in a studio environment.
Four versions of already recorded tunes share time with the newly written title track and a roaring version of Stephen Stills’ “Love the One You’re With,’ the latter clocking in at ten minutes. It kicks off with Stills’ melody and lyrics, bringing some funk to the roots rocker. But like professional jazz musicians, by the 2:30 mark they shift to full improvisation mode, abandoning all references to the tune as saxist Julian Nalli blasts into honking heaven.
It’s impossible not to reference the Tedeschi-Trucks Band when describing Bywater Call’s sound, particularly due to singer Parnell’s voice sharing her rough and gritty-soulisms with Susan Tedeschi’s similar style. Additionally, the TTB veers off into often uncharted territory, especially on stage, that isn’t far from Bywater’s approach. But give Parnell props for selflessly handing attention to the other musicians, taking a backseat as the guys travel down some impressively intense, and often unexpected, musical roads.
Guitarist Barnes’ Terry Kath-inflected solo on “Bring Me Down,” lengthened by three minutes and rearranged from 2019s debut, gives Barnes room to roam on an extended, searing six-string journey.
Pianist John Kervin displays his gospel/New Orleans chops on “Sign of Peace” as the horns and percussion bop down to Bourbon Street on a tune any Big Easy outfit would be thrilled to cover. Parnell spreads her gospel/Irma Thomas-inspired vocals before Kervin jumps in as the ensemble breaks into a frantic, joyous, double-time churchy rave-up on the disc’s most sweat-soaked example of Bywater’s jubilant talents.
The closing “Everybody Knows” crackles over eight minutes of rocking soul, raising the temperature considerably from 2024s album performance. Parnell shifts from hoarse shouting to supple singing (check out her lung power on the slow opening of “Bring Me Down”) reminiscent of Cold Blood’s Lydia Pense. “Everybody knows the bed they sleep in,” she declares, then allowing the guys and especially pianist Kervin to go wild after the song’s first half. Guitarist Barne’s matches with a Lynyrd Skynyrd-styled guitar rave-up and the horns join to close things down on a live show that likely blew the fuses in the Toronto club where it was recorded.
At just 45 minutes, ‘Sunshine’ could have been longer and the smattering of applause doesn’t seem like this was a full house. But there’s enough here to convince any roots music lover that if Bywater Call is playing anywhere nearby, that’s the place to be.
Pre-order the album HERE
“Sunshine”
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