Album Review: Ryan McCord, From The Railyard To The Woodyard

When he's not writing songs or playing shows , Yellowknife resident Ryan McCord busies himself cleaning windows. What is crystal clear though is McCord has a quirky, odd yet charming approach to his tunes which initially fall along the likes of The Handsome Family and a few Toms (Stompin' and Waits). The klezmer-tinged romp on "CNR Eastbound" immediately gets your attention thanks to Scott Duncan's fiddle and mandolin chops.

There's a lightness and humour to the songs which also works, especially on "After The Fall" and "My Bacon Makin' Baby," the latter strolling along as bacon surpasses tenderloin in McCord's view of skillet dishes. Other little keepers such as "Two Steppin'" shine with the singer happy to be in a shack belting out Patsy Cline tunes.

Throughout it all McCord relies on time-tested, lapsteel-laced country arrangements that are warm and well-executed. He hits a homer with "The Ghost of the O&Q" which talks about riding the rails of the old Ontario and Quebec Railway. And aside from an almost obligatory tune citing Stompin' Tom Connors and the waltz oozing from "The Bottle," McCord succeeds with this album. It's a record that screams for an enigmatic Coen Brothers script to complement it.

From The Railyard to the Woodyard was released December 21, 2020.
Listen to it here.