Pokey LaFarge

Rhumba Country

New West

Pokey LaFarge has crafted perhaps the best ‘feel good’ album of the year so far with the tongue-in-cheek titled Rhumba Country, a sarcastic jab at trying to conveniently pigeonhole music into defined genres. Here he embraces music from many areas of the globe, including mambo, tropicalia, rocksteady, and early American rock n’ roll to concoct an infectious stew that will inevitably have you singing along, tapping your feet, or dancing full out. Incorporating all those various styles would lead one to think the music instead might be complex, but the lyrics are simple and straightforward as are the chord structures, thinking of songs almost like prayers – steeped in repeatable and easily memorable lines. The hooks he creates are indelible; they will linger for days. This is the perfect soundtrack for your summer road trip or easy drive to the beach.

The back story behind the album though is intriguing.  The Illinois born-and-bred LaFarge traversed the county for the last half decade, looking for a home only to find himself in mid-coast Maine where he embarked on a major life change, working 12-hour days on a local farm. It was there that he found inspiration for these songs while plowing, planting seeds, or doing various chores. They just came to him naturally. Still, he felt something was missing. He spoke with fellow Midwestern transplant Elliott Bergman who suggested that LaFarge return to city life in Los Angeles for a year so that the two could collaborate on the album. During this period, LaFarge kept dreaming about a kaleidoscopic sound that would fuse the aforementioned styles of music and together with Bergman and Chris Seefried recorded this project as a celebration of life and love.

The snappy opener “One You, One Me” plays to a joyous, tropical rhythm setting the tone for album with its joyous “la, la, la” following the chorus lines “There is one you, one me/And we’ve got a love that will/Always be.”  This blissful spirt continues to infuse “For a Night” while “Run, Run, Run” has distorted guitar and layered percussion forming what LaFarge terms a “tropical-gospel-song.” Strengthened by the harmonies of his wife Addie Hamilton (also a singer-songwriter, LaFarge urges us to overcome obstacles to keep pursuing what is most important.  (“Don’t stop until you get there.”) He employs tropical rhythms on the slightly psychedelic, loopy, dizzying autobiographically themed “Like a Sailor” in search of that elusive home.

The single “Sister Andre” is steeped in ‘60s R&B as LaFarge uses the inspiration of a French nun who lived to age 118 to deliver his optimistic message. He comments, “After I heard her story, I started singing about a character who’s got a lot of sage advice to share, and it turned into a song of encouragement for those who are lonely and hoping for love.” There’s a stomping, slightly reggae beat to “So Long, Chicago” where LaFarge playfully pokes fun at snowbirds seeking warmer climes in the winter months. He digs further into reggae with the album’s lone cover, Ken Boothe’s late ‘60s rocksteady classic which ties into this nomadic theme, “Home, Home, Home.” The finger snapped “It’s Not Over” is also imbued with Caribbean strains as LaFarge expresses the importance and joy of finding the right partner with background vocals that evoke early ‘60s pop records.

LaFarge points to Brazilian composer Jorge Ben in his effort to reduce the chord progressions and emphasize the rhythms on the record, while enabling the vocals to be front and center. Perhaps the best example of that is the lighthearted “Made to Be Loved’ (‘Future’s bright shinin’ for (you and me).”), guaranteed to induce smiles and singalongs. The closer “You Make My Garden Grow” takes this celebratory bliss even further, beginning with whistling.

Once a purveyor of dark songs, LaFarge is anything but here. He lifts us up. Sometimes simpler is best.

• Jim Hynes

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