Album Review – Riley Downing’s “Landfill Poetry”

Country-Inspired Americana (#570.2) and Traditional Country (#510) on the Country DDS.

Whether through his work with the New Orleans-based music collective The Deslondes, or his numerous collaborations with other performers, or his first solo album a few years back, some probably recognize the name Riley Downing, probably revere his deep barrel-chested voice, and its ability to add just the right mood or texture to a song. But none of us might have heard him quite like this before—with such focus on what he does best, and such purpose behind presenting it intentionally. Landfill Poetry isn’t just a side project. It’s perhaps the full realization of Riley Downing’s musical contributions and value.

Everybody loves to profess they were poor at some point. Claiming you lived in your car, or warmed up your soup with Sterno cans confers a level of character, and gives one claim to the full breadth of the American experience, no matter how true your claims might be, or where you ended up eventually. For Riley Downing, he truly was a garbage man in rural Missouri while aspiring to become a full-time musician. By hearkening back to that formative time in his life, he finds himself in the throes of an exploration of what it really means to be poor, to be judged poorly by others, and to be delighted by the simple pleasures of life.

Though Downing proponents can produce many examples where he’s wowed us with the of his voice in the past, it’s never been explored with this depth, from finding the exact right keys and tempos to really draw what’s cool about his tone to the surface, to the way he ends certain songs like “Hurt To Fall” or “Last Day of Mardi Gras” just hanging on those final notes to let the audience bask in his voice’s unpolished, rugged beauty, naked from accompaniment.

Strongly collaborating with producers Andrija Tokic, Grant D’ Aubin, and fellow Deslones member John James Tourville on both the arrangements and especially the writing for this album, this assured that everything comes together well on Landfill Poetry in what feels like a career-defining effort. And though The Deslones have always been a strong amalgam of American roots music that prides itself on its mutt-like and indefinable nature, it really feels like this album is more country than anything, though still with those Nola textures and unique hues to keep the music interesting and personal to Riley’s sonic worldview.

Landfill Poetry is less like a collection of songs, and more like snapshots in time, or vignettes from Riley’s life. It’s the way he takes rather simple notions, observances, and experiences, but makes them feel deeply poetic, and even sometimes downright prophetic. You believe every self-deprecating word of the song “Country Fool” about being a decidedly unsophisticated individual, but somehow he makes it still feel like an intellectual exploration of character. And of course with his slow, deep, lazy-sounding delivery, you believe every word intently.

A song like “Helen & Gene” isn’t especially heady, but the way Riley is able to make these characters and their intertwined lives come alive, it’s an enviable piece of songwriting. Ultimately, this album is an anthem to the working man, and this is underscored in “Night Shift.” There’s nothing really complex about the notions found in “Hay Hay Hay” about one of those post-relationship roll arounds that so often follow a breakup. “Polecat Holler” is a super fun little twangy country ditty. And few songs capture the essence of lived moments like “Porch Song” and “Last Day of Mardi Gras.”

Landfill Poetry also comes out on John Prine’s Oh Boy Records, which feels like a kismet in its own right. Riley Downing used to be a trash man. John Prine started out as the “singing mailman” when he was discovered by Roger Ebert. Prine got to quit his day job, and so did Riley. Downing will always and forever be a proud and founding member of The Deslondes. And often when an artist gets this deep into their career, they can become somewhat of a known quantity with lowered expectations from their audience. But with Landfill Poetry, Riley Downing leaves his signature stamp on music as a solo artist.

8.3/10

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Stream/Purchase Landfill Poetry