Under the Radar

For a band that’s been around for more that fifteen years putting out high quality, cosmopolitan Americana, you’d think Over the Rhine would be more of a household name. Maybe that’s why their following is so fanatical; they’ve got a secret they can’t wait to tell you about. “The Trumpet Child”, Over the Rhine’s tenth album of new material is daring in it’s departure from the soft, gentle crooning of earlier efforts and because of that, it’s their best album yet. 

The nucleus of the band is the married duo of Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler and the album has the feel of a late night jam session with Bergquist pulling out all the stops to find new range for her already devastating voice. All the songs draw on pre-rock influences, opening with a subtle horn section made up of Nashville street musicians that weaves it’s way through other songs including the jazzy title track. “Trouble” has a bossa nova beat with sly, sexy lyrics, “I think it’s trouble honey, I think it’s good.”  There’s an ingenious listing of their musical influences as cabinet members in “If A Song Could Be President.”  It’s hard to say no to the soulful “Let’s Spend the Day in Bed”, the cabaret styled “Desperate for Love” and easy to agree when she sings “I’m on a Roll.”  

Detweiler sums up the album best in the liner notes when, after explaining that the title comes from old gospel hymns that refer to the idea of the world being reborn with the sound of a trumpet, he writes: “So we hope you like the songs, we hope they unfold like an underground evening of lost Midwestern cabaret, a little private party good enough to last the night and longer, the sound of a trumpet to wake your world. Turn it up.”  

Listen for songs from Over The Rhine’s album “The Trumpet Child” all this week on Paul Shugrue’s new music show “Out of the Box.” Monday through Thursday from 7 pm to 9pm, Saturday afternoon from 1 pm to 5 pm and on demand at www.whrv.org/outofthebox.