Miss Tess & The Talkbacks

Overview

"When you decide to go into the studio," reflects Miss Tess from her home in New York City, "the timing has to be just right." In fact, uncanny timing informs and enhances nearly everything Tess does, from her disarming, behind-the-beat vocal phrasing to her solid yet gently swinging rhythm guitar. In the years since she first emerged, she has wisely learned to trust her sense of timing. "In this case, we had a batch of unrecorded songs, the studio I wanted to use was available, and the band was tight after touring all year." The resulting album, Sweet Talk (available October 16), is Tess's first studio album in three years, her first for Signature Sounds, and the debut of her newly christened backing outfit, The Talkbacks. While still bearing hallmarks of the simmering, jazz-inflected sound that has made Tess and her former band the Bon Ton Parade a club and festival favorite, Sweet Talk introduces a more personal mix of influences. By blending her knack for melodic and rhythmic improvisation and interplay with elements of honky-tonk, western swing, and golden-era pop standards, she and her multifaceted supporting band have arrived at a style simultaneously refreshing and hauntingly familiar. "By changing the name of the band," she says, "I wanted to let people know that our sound had evolved: now there's a much stronger country and early rock'n'roll influence—and different instrumentation." "For years," she continues, "I featured sax and clarinet in the band, which has a certain connotation in a lot of people's minds and ears. By replacing woodwinds with a second guitar, the sound becomes more versatile. We can still swing, but we also sound more country. I find I'm also writing differently: there's a more rooted, Americana influence. There's still an aesthetic from the '40s and '50s in play, but we're mixing in these country, blues, jazz, and early rock'n'roll influences in a way that really feels new to me." This unique hybrid is made possible by the resourceful facility of The Talkbacks and the clear, open-hearted quality of Tess's songs. Ten of the eleven tracks on Sweet Talk are original, and range from rollicking western swing ("Everybody's Darling") to ruminative waltzes ("Save Me St. Peter") to propulsive, minor-key second-line ("Adeline"). At the center of it all, Tess holds down rhythm on her 1930s archtop guitar—although she did swap it out for a '60s Harmony Stratotone for "People Come Here for Gold," a slithering rocker set to a swampy, Tony Joe White-style backbeat. "That's the one gets people up," says Tess with a grin. "When we play that, people start dancing—freestyle." Nearly all of Sweet Talk was honed on the road over the past two years, giving the performances a warm confidence while ensuring that the musicians are familiar enough with the material to take chances. The Talkbacks include Will Graefe on lead guitar, Danny Weller on upright bass (since replaced by Larry Cook), and Matt Meyer on drums. "Everybody brings their own individual thing, makes suggestions, and changes it up," she explains. "Plus, these guys are really accomplished improvisers." Tess is no stranger to improvisation, either. Her vocals are spontaneous and playful, constantly reinterpreting and rephrasing her melodies without ever losing sight of the song's underlying emotion. "I change the melody all the time in my own songs," she