When I first heard Sabine McCalla’s EP Folk, I was positive that I’d come across another one of those folk revival era “long-lost-and-recently-rediscovered” recordings. But, to my surprise, it was released in 2018. With just five songs and clocking in around 11 minutes total, it’s a quick listen, but feels like a full album. Listening to Sabine’s music is a wholly transporting experience. It’s commanding in its simplicity, and distinctively not derivative despite the obvious nostalgia factor that blends elements of folk, gospel, and Americana. Her voice is deep, carrying each song with such strength that there’s no need for much additional backing.
We’ll start at the end. The last track on the EP, Road We Wander, might sound familiar to Patsy Cline fans (AKA everyone). It follows a nearly identical chord structure and melody, but is much softer in its longing pleas of heartache, both lyrically and atmospherically. Consider the opening verse:
Roads we wander when we're apart Baby, please don't break my aching heart Things we said just yesterday Don't forget them when you go away
I think it’s safe to assume here a romantic longing, but when I listen to this song I also think of the roads we wander separately from our friends, places we’ve lived, communities we’ve loved, or even other versions of ourselves that are either long past, or feel locked away for whatever reason. “Don’t forget them when you go away” suggests a protective wistfulness that is difficult to let go of, a tight grip on heartache. There’s a frustrating pain in hoping that whatever happens on that other road won’t end up hurting you. It’s a real “trust the process” mentality.
What I like about this song, among many things, is its timeline malleability. Who’s to say if it’s a brief afternoon away from someone or something loved, or a long, perhaps indefinite, amount of time? And in reality, it always feels the same, doesn’t it? Our bodies are remarkably inept at having a realistic view on time when it comes to emotional pain. Heartache and longing know nothing of hours or minutes or days.
While I find myself often humming Roads We Wander absentmindedly, Stole My Heart is a real gut punch. On this short track, Sabine’s voice is low and robust, possessing a hardened knowledge more so than bitterness, which could easily be spun through a different treatment of the lyrics.
You stole my heart You stole my soul You stole my mind, I can't let it go What is a kiss, what is a curse? Have I found God or is the devil at his worst? I never thought a man could be so cruel to me Pick me up, treat me like a fool for him Keep me waiting like a dog for my meat
To lose one’s heart, soul, and mind is to lose essentially one’s whole self. And without self, there is no option to “let it go”, because the only thing left is the person or thing that took it from you. This makes the curse and the kiss mentioned in the next line essentially one if the same, inseparable. On the final repeat of the chorus, the last line changes from “have I found God or is the devil at his worst” to “Who is God? Why can’t he match the devil’s curse?”, indicating the protagonist knows the predicament she’s in, and nonetheless there is no resolution.
A final note on Sabine McCalla’s music: Oftentimes, the most trying and emotional times in our lives are marked with frantic confusion, rumination, overwhelming sorrow, a kind of “grasping at straws” energy. But then, sometimes, painful truths come to us calmly, quietly. Those are usually the things we need to trust the most, but are also the most difficult to face. They’re difficult to face because when something we don’t want comes to us that calmly, it is nearly physically and psychically impossible to ignore. Painful? Yes. But that is the beauty and peace of being fully seen. This is what you’ll experience listening to Folk, and you will want to listen over and over and over again.