Named after the Leonard Cohen song, “Famous Blue Raincoat,” The FBR offers a unique and powerful blend of southern-rock, soul, and blues, as displayed on their brand new album, Ghost, released January 20th.
Fronted by Malarie McConaha and Tim Hunter, the Franklin, Tennessee, duo and soon-to-be husband and wife’s new album explores themes of facing the past’s haunts and the present’s fears.
McConaha, the lead singer and electric guitar player, and Hunter, the songwriter and acoustic guitar player, are a musical force to be reckoned with, and their chemistry built alongside their bandmates makes for an an inimitable sound.
“Before I Drown,” the band’s October single and opening track, sets the scene of exhaustion through emotional harmonies and lyricism. “I know that you are lying near/ Even you can’t ease my fears.” The song captures the feeling of self-realization and the sad truth of addiction. The bridge shakes up this sound with hard-rock vocals, backed up by a resonating instrumental build. Topped off with an impressive held-out note, the track ends with a twinge of hope- “I just hope the sun comes back again.”
The second track is The FBR’s first released single, “Rain On,” which dropped in 2020. With an anthemic rock introduction and a haunting organ line, the song hits heavy, stopping its listeners in their tracks. The FBR plays into their gothic sound with their storytelling. “The devil’s in the sermon and the church on fire / Get down, gonna drown, pour the holy water til the flames get higher.” A swath of instrumentation follows this lyrical warning with unmatched dynamics, and ends with a vocal crescendo and electric guitar solo. This track embodies a classic rock vibe, and The FBR’s “American Noir” title.
Their final single of 2023, “Empty Room,” offers a more soulful swaying bluesy vibe, with a twinkling of piano backing it. With a melancholy acoustic guitar line and the persistently haunting and powerful vocals of McConaha, this is a strong standout track on the album. “Like a sunrise gaze against the break / Or a hope that once lit an empty room,’’ McConaha paints a picture of loneliness through building, intense instrumentation.
“It is really cool listening back to the earliest phone recordings I took that weekend, and slowly hearing the song come to life,” she told the Bluegrass Situation. “It was a monumental moment for me, being able to be vulnerable enough to express my struggles and for both of us to be able to communicate it through a song.”
Wrapping things up with “Still on the Run,” the final track offers an upbeat Brandi Carlile-esque energy that keeps this track grooving, along with melodic tambourine and guitar solos. The song speaks of a free spirit that has fallen in love. “Broken hearted and still on the run,” she sings. The singer’s growth isn’t just vocal, it’s emotional. The song ends with the hopeful and repetetive sentiment, “I’m gonna aim for where you are.”
Ghost is an intense, soulful musical journey for the listener, but also quite the journey for The FBR. The near-newlyweds will be at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville for WMOT’s Finally Friday series February 16th.
