Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
“The night it stays bright in this big open sky / Sure could use some company, on this mountainside / So while the moon is high you’ll stay on my mind,” croons a confident Regina Ferguson in the swinging chorus of her new single “Canyon Town,” currently out and available everywhere smart country music is sold and streamed. Ferguson has built much of her career off of her endearing skills as a singer, and in this sense, “Canyon Town” isn’t all that different from most of the songs she’s written and recorded since first debuting just last year. What sets this release apart has more to do with its aesthetical sentiments than aural fireworks, making it just the sort of content disciples of her brand will be very excited to hear.
The percussive element in “Canyon Town” is pretty conservative, even for this being a vocal-dominant recording, but I don’t think we needed it to give up much more to the backend of the mix to feel as much of a thrust in the rhythm as we inevitably do. Ferguson’s voice is putting plenty of kick into the big picture all by itself without the bassline having to get all that beefy, and when coupled with the searing tonality of the guitar parts, the drums aren’t nearly as critical to the climax as they would be in another performance.
As charming as I find the vocal to be every time I listen to this track, the collective chemistry between all of the players here is actually what makes the mood behind the music in “Canyon Town” so difficult to extinguish. Long after the melodies have ceased to fill the air around us with blushing sexuality that only gets stronger with every word Ferguson serenades us with, the confidence this artist leaves in her wake is still very viable and felt by anyone who just experienced the song. That’s hard to pull off, no matter the mileage a singer/songwriter may or may not have.
Despite the more minimalistic instrumental components to “Canyon Town,” there’s a lushness to the main harmony in this single that makes the narrative in the lyrics even more multi-interpretive than it would have been with a straight-up black-and-white backdrop. Color can make or break an old-fashioned approach like that of Regina Ferguson’s here, and much to my satisfaction, she knows exactly how to manipulate every corner of this mix to give us the most bang for our buck.
Ferguson proves herself to be quite the sensuous crooner after a very short time to introduce us to her amazing work in “Canyon Town,” and while I’m not certain it will be the song to elevate her profile from the shadows of the underground into the primetime spotlight a lot of critics have argued it belongs in, I do think it’s going to feel like a slam dunk for her serious fans. This hasn’t been a very conventional year for artists in any genre, but listeners who just want a moody good time this spring can’t go wrong with this single and the skillful songwriter who dropped it.
Christian Vedder
