New Mexico-based songwriter Eliza Gilkyson's new album Dark Ages is a magnificent, politically charged, angry slow-burn.
On the album’s title song, the fierce Rocky Mountain grand-momma-bear snarls, “Dirty old man with the dead snake eyes, fork-tongued devil telling lie, lie, lies. All the sycophants rally ’round their golden idol, jonesin’ for a fix at the hate revival; Vancе, Thiel, Bannon and the X boy clown step onto thе stage to burn the whole thing down.” Then it sticks the dagger in and twists it: “Alpha white boys thumping on their chests, while they dictate to the women what is right what is best, They all bow down when the big dog barks, Fuck those little fuckers, they can fuck right off!”
Gilkyson’s silky vocals and deft guitar licks — backed by a collection of musical stars: Don Richmond, The Rifters, Cisco Ryder Gilliland, John Gorka, Busy McCarroll, the Arrellano Brothers, Warren Hood, Delia Castillo and other musical stars — subtly carry the song forward.
Gilkyson’s soft sound and taste for country joys can be hypnotically deceptive, but she is no blithe nature-loving escapist. This veteran songwriter is hip to what is going down politically in the United States and the world, and she says what she feels about it.
Now in the early months of this diabolically-cruel second Donald Trump regime, Gilkyson is feeling righteous anger, boiling towards rage.
Steel guitar, dobro, fiddle, bass, drums, keys, harmonica mandolin and a cello — all arranged and by Richmond — bring a country-bluegrass flavour to the album, behind Gilkyson’s voice and guitar. John Goka and Mike Hardwick join this jam and steer her quiet anger to a stormy haunting whirl in her original songs “Times Like These” and “Dark Night of the Soul” and “Man in the Moon” and “Ten Thousand Things”.
Gilkyson ends the album with a new version of her powerful song in Spanish, “Esta Salida Del Sol” ("This Sunrise").
“Keep the light on, vow to fight on, through the dark night of the soul,” Gilkyson croons. This brave, beautiful album is fuel to keep that light of resistance burning.