I’ve lost my feeling for rock ‘n’ roll plenty of times since, say, Love You Live or The River or Combat Rock — albums by beloveds that seemed like stiffs in the moment. But rock-is-over raps have never deflated me for long. I’ve learned to trust there’s always something coming in the American night. Mathew Borushko steered me to The Past is Alive late last year It’s my favorite CD 0f 2024. The opener, “Alibi,” got me open but it’s “Hawkmoon” that made me look up and lock in. There’s the melody as well as a signature line: “I’m becoming the kind of girl they warned me about.” Anyone can tell Alynda Segarra is tuned to what it means to do Americana when the country, which you’ve always been ambivalent about, is headed for a fall. But I had no clue about Alive‘s depths until Matthew B. read me into the songs’ back pages. (Bless him and Alynda for hinting sweet Will was the o-riginal rock and roller…
No motion has she now, no force;
…She neither hears nor sees;
…Roll’d round in earth’s diurnal course,
…With rocks, and stones, and trees.)
Segarra — that Nuyorican devil in a red dress below — has mucho charm. She’s worthy of her home borough (“New York’s most heterogeneous and alive”), the Bronx. Segarra’s range seems pretty astounding (until I recall how many renaissance cats named Richie Torres roam my city). Segarra has rambled from Rican beach to NOLA and all the good country in and around. (She likes “Heroes” too.) FWIW, the Motherland guitar at the top of the following pre-The Past is Alive Tiny Desk concert is nice as are Van-the-Man strings that kick in in the middle (where this clip starts)…
The Tiny Desk and Firsters with good ears who’ve seen Riff Raff shows confirm Segarra et al. are wonderful live, but I’m not sure The Past is Alive is made for the stage. While the record doesn’t sound like hard work, it has a sound. (Think Time Out of Mind, not post-Lanois Dylan.) Matthew B. likes the stripped-down “Colossus of Roads” here, though he’d allow it’s not quite up to the recorded version.
You can hear prime “Roads” and all of The Past is Alive on Youtube so…pa’lante!!! B.D.