Kathleen McKeveny
Caleb Stine and the Brakemen, Time I Let It Go
A fundamental constituent of the Baltimore folk scene, Caleb Stine is the everyman’s shaman. Sharp-jawed and six-foot-something, topped by a trucker hat and a voice akin to James Taylor, Stine’s spiritual cowboy is lonely, but decidedly hopeful. His lyrical cadence is effortless and his delivery sincere. Time I Let It Go is hardly a departure from this signature style and message. It’s his most well developed record to date.
Stand out track, Edge of the Riverside, laments only momentarily: “I’ve got a little time ‘til I fly away, I gotta choose the words that I wanna say.” This is the movement of the songs on this album – from disillusionment to determination. When Stine delivers “When your entire comes down to chance you don’t have the right to run” it’s received as an emphatic mystic revelation through the sitar drone.
The Brakemen bring harmony and companionship– singing backup on songs like title track Time I Let It Go. The album is thoroughly collaborative- there is even a documentary to prove it. Sorrowfully, Stine moans ”Broken glass all over the seat, cut on my hand, wrapped in a sheet” – he’s hurting but not bleeding out. It’s under control…sort of. Far from the brooding type – “Butter in my belly is the butter I like most” –Stine runs the gamut from the Beyond to biscuits on this album. It’s a playful and unpretentious project, full of life and well-constructed tunes.
Time I Let It Go is a gainful venture into the hearts of everyday people – after all, Stine is one of us. Take a listen at one of his live local shows, or on his website, calebstine.com.
Recommended tracks: Spirit, Edge of Riverside, Time I Let It Go