“Only as the Day is Long“
from the album Only as the Day is Long
2008
iTunes
At the time, Sera Cahoone’s decision to leave Band of Horses seemed like a strange one. The band was just getting started, and Everything All the Time was about to blow up big-time. But she was done manning the drum kit, it seemed, after years keeping the beat for Carissa’s Weird before Band of Horses.
Turns out, it was a smart call on her part. Only as the Day is Long is her second solo record, and now that she’s on Sub Pop, she’s poised to break out all on her own. Her country balladry just might bring enough of the goods to make that happen. Owing much more to the melancholy of Carissa’s Weird than the more bittersweet tendencies of Band of Horses, Cahoone’s new album is dark and quiet and brooding. Her voice, infused with a crooning smoke, delivers down-and-out stories of woe with a genuine feeling behind them. The sad sway of “Baker Lake,” the country-western pluck of “You Might as Well,” and the sneaky drive of percussion behind “Only as the Day is Long” each establish their own brand of sad quiet, while also coming together to build the album.
Musically, it is an accomplishment. The compositions may be simple, and stripped down, but the execution is spot-on. These songs aren’t influenced by country, they are country. And it takes a great musician to make that difference. Cahoone shows herself to be surprisingly adroit as a guitarist and as a songwriter, leaving most of the drums to others in favor of being a full-on frontwoman.