The first thing you might notice on Sequoia Feinson’s latest album, So Long, is the warmth and directness of the songs and his arrangements. Opening track “Protegé” eases into your ears with a calm, midtempo groove, fingerpicking guitars meshing with electric piano and trumpet. The title refers to the model of car that’s being immortalized in song: “I drove an old Mazda my brother handed down / From the kindness of his being / I wish that car was still around.” Songs about cars are as old as the invention of the car itself, but Sequoia finds a way to attach his long-lost vehicle to memories of youth and make it seem fresh, relatable, and irresistible.
Sequoia currently resides in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, but So Long was produced by Russell Lacy and recorded in Richmond, Virginia with a team of stellar musicians – Cameron Ralston on bass, Pinson Chanselle on drums, Calvin Brown on keyboards, Daniel Stein on pedal Steel, “Mambo” Bob Miller on trumpet and Trey Hall on mandolin. Their accompaniment is the perfect foil for Sequoia‘s songs of love, loss, and road trips, avoiding present-day artificial country/folk tropes and concentrating on simple authenticity.
That authenticity shines through with genuine country ballad sincerity in tracks like “Tears and Turbulence”, as Stein’s pedal steel cuts an aching path through the song, in which Sequoia equates love and heartbreak with aviation: “My heart is a jet engine,” he sings. “Taking off from the Midwest / On a runway to loneliness / Through tears and turbulence.” That loneliness also takes the form of simple ballads like “Miles Away”, as Sequoia is accompanied solely by acoustic guitar, and the winsome “Tired Games”, an eloquent bid for reconciliation with his true love during difficult times.
While the music on So Long seems greatly informed by simple country and folk overtones, Sequoia isn’t above exploring bits of other styles. “Wild Nights,” with gently chugging percussion and crisp rhythm guitar, suggests a soulful AM radio vibe that wouldn’t sound out of place alongside a Jimmy Webb classic. The loping, lazy, harmonica-fueled “New Place” echoes Harvest-era Neil Young. The songs are all presented in a way that is the exact opposite of “fussy”, yet these tracks are enticing, compelling, and instantly lovable.
“It’s been a rough run,” Sequoia sings on the title track, which closes the album. “I can’t sleep right unless I’ve had one / It’s not like we didn’t know this was always possible / As if that would help some.” So Long is the sound of a well-lived, occasionally heartbroken troubadour who’s seen it all and will happily oblige you with a story in song. May he have many more to share.