Wheel’s on Fire
Sal Kimber and the Rollin’ Wheel
Sal Kimber and the Rollin’ Wheel
Reviewed by Alex Morton
Let’s get straight to the point here! Sal Kimber plays guitar and banjo, she writes wonderful, tuneful songs full of killer hooks. She possesses a beautifully warm and expressive voice – sometimes yearning, sometimes sensual, always believable – and she has one of the best and most empathetic bands around. She also hates auto-tune, but she doesn’t need it.
So she’s taken all of this along to producer/engineer/alchemist Shane O’Mara at his yikesville studio, and they’ve all come away with one of the best, and best-sounding, albums of 2011, no contest.
And the Rollin’ Wheel really are a great band. This record sounds very much a group effort, and several years of touring together, playing anything from small, intimate gigs to large festivals, has obviously paid off in spades. Cat Leahy deserves special mention for her work on drums and percussion – intuitive, wonderfully subtle, and integral to the overall sound and feel; she’s a hell of a drummer. And guitarist Jacob Cole, who co-wrote around half of the songs with Sal, plays an equally important part, his great guitar lines often sounding like a second voice. The band arrangements are amazingly well thought-out – intricate and musical – and the more you listen, the more is revealed.
Sal’s sister Beth sweetens things up with keyboards, accordion and some mind-bending glockenspiel! (When did you last hear one of them on a record like this?) And Trent McKenzie anchors it all with his electric and double bass. All this helped along with some help from guests like Liz Stringer. Check out the gorgeous Sweet Love – and the great Chris Wilson, who blows inspired harp on Walking in the Woods. Among my other faves are the yearning guitar/vocal stunner Your Town, and Got You, with its coda of “… cool baby cool, what it is is what it is …” It’s very … well … cool! And there’s plenty more, but I’ve run out of room to list ‘em all.
Unlike the Kingswood in the great cover shot, stranded on a back road with its hood up, The Rollin’ Wheel are beautifully tuned and never miss a beat. And it’s a very sweet ride.
