Kristina Stykos: Reviews

Robert Resnik, Seven Days

With Shooting Arrows at the Moon, Windsor County musician Bow Thayer has created an introspective gem of an album featuring sparse instrumentation and a pure sound.

Thayer was the front man for Boston newgrass heroes The Benders. More recently, he was a favorite at the dearly departed Middle Earth Music Hall in Bradford, where he rocked the house with his band Perfect Trainwreck. Thayer still plays with his big band, which has a benefit gig scheduled at Randolph’s Chandler Music Hall on January 30. But his new recording features a much more compact band, with Thayer on vocals, guitar, banjo and ukulele, brilliant Montpelier fiddler Patrick Ross and the gloriously talented Kristina Stykos — one of Vermont’s great rhythm guitarists and also the engineer of this CD.

Thayer and Stykos seem to get along just fine in every way, which lends the album a sense of musical comfort throughout. And when Stykos sings harmonies alongside Thayer’s lead lines, it’s definitely more than the sum of just two voices.

Thayer’s 14 originals reveal classy influences. He has recorded with Levon Helm and, much like every member of The Band, Thayer has the ability to write new material that sounds like an instant string-band classic.

Most of the tracks feature Thayer’s unadorned vocals, matched with just the right amount of acoustic accompaniment: strummed guitar, banjo figures and sinuous fiddle.

“The Tango Rose” has a rhythmic groove that sounds as if a young Steve Earle had decided to have a tea party with Jerry Garcia.

“Way of the Gun” contains high lonesome sparkle centered on Ross’ exquisite fiddle work, Thayer’s delicate banjo picking and another great vocal duet with Stykos.

“Allston Brighton,” a requiem for drug casualties and other departed friends, is just about perfectly sad. Bow Thayer is quite a songwriter.

The combination of Thayer’s talents as a musician and composer and producer Stykos’ sensitive touch in the studio has resulted in a highly pleasurable album. It leaves me hoping the pair might collaborate again sometime soon.

Shooting Arrows at the Moon is available at www.bowthayer.com

Art Edelstein, Times Argus BOW THAYER: At his intimate best

Bow Thayer is appearing nearby on Friday, Nov. 20 at the Purple Moon Pub in Waitsfield, and with Chris McGandy on pedal steel guitar and with Kristina Stykos at the 3 Bean Café on Dec. 10 in Rochester.

Stockbridge VT-based Bow Thayer has released one of the best CDs I've heard this year. "Shooting Arrows at the Moon" is all acoustic, low-key, informal and laced with excellent songs and fine picking. With Thayer writing all 14 tracks, singing and playing guitar, banjo and uke, we have his best work to date.

That said, a lot of the credit for the success of this album goes to its producer/engineer/backup singer and multi-instrumentalist Kristina Stykos.

Thayer's own words make it clear why this CD is so good. As he writes in an introduction to the album on his Web site (www.bowthayer.com), "I can honestly say this project just happened out of the blue here in Vermont at my friend Kristina Stykos' Pepperbox Studio.

"What excites me about this record is the spontaneous informality of it all. There was no real intention or pressure to produce an album so what we have is some music that had been written then abandoned and songs that were recorded in their infancy."

This is how recordings should be made. As too many musicians learn from sad experience, when the pressure is on, when studio time is expensive, and they are perhaps reaching beyond their comfort level, the result may not be quite what they or their audience expect.

Thayer's previous albums reviewed here, "Driftwood Periodicals, Volume I" and "Spend It All," were studio affairs with a full band. I thought Thayer's material had promise but was lost in the clash of guitars, drums and overproduction. His new album shows that, taken down a notch or two and given a relaxed atmosphere to record in, his promise and expertise shine through. His songwriting here is mature while his guitar and banjo work carry a strong pulse. And his singing is emotive.

I'm reminded of the 1970s recordings by Bob Dylan and also early John Prine on several tracks. Thayer writes good story songs. Especially effective are "The Tango Rose," "Suicide Kings," "Carla Dupree," "Allston Brighton" and "Way of The Gun."

He builds characters that are believable and story lines that any novelist would appreciate. While not a crooner, Thayer's gritty vocals are effective.

The music on this album has overtones of contemporary folk, acoustic country and neo-bluegrass. It's an ear-friendly sound as well, owing to the lack of electric instruments and percussion.

Stykos has captured Thayer's guitar and banjo perfectly maintaining the authentic sound of these acoustic instruments. Her own contribution includes harmony singing and guitar, mandolin and bouzouki accompaniment. Her vocals work well to support Thayer, as she is an alto. Her singing doesn't outshine Thayer's voice.

Violinist Patrick Ross joins Thayer and Stykos but on just eight of the 14 tracks. I would have liked to hear more of this fine musician. This is not fiddling, rather, it's atmospheric violin, and I'm reminded of the work Scarlet Rivera did on an earlier Bob Dylan album.

With just a few instruments to work with and two voices plus some excellent songs, Thayer, with Stykos and Ross' help, has produced his most thoughtful and mature work yet.

While Thayer works primarily with his band Perfect Trainwreck, I hope he'll do more solos and feature the songs on "Shooting Arrows at the Moon." This is the album that will advance his career beyond the barroom dance floor.

Brent Hallenbeck, Burlington Free Press

The folk-rocker from Windsor County mutes the rock in this traditional-music project with Kristina Stykos, recorded at her studio in Chelsea. Thayer makes lyrical reference to one of his influences, Levon Helm, but "Shooting Arrows at the Moon" extracts the rock element of The Band and gives the guitar-banjo-fiddle-driven music an airy, ragged, front-porch friendliness.