Alynda Segarra’s last two albums looked outwards: The Navigator towards their Puerto Rico heritage, telling the story of immigrants living in a city, trying to find a place in a new world, while follow up Life on Earth sang of places and people under siege in a hostile world. Musically these albums ranged from innovative Latino inspired folk, to indie rock, to lo-fi electronica and spoken word. Here was an artist asking questions, searching, making exciting and original music that grew with every listen (like those rhododendron they sang about).
New album The Past is Still Alive is less conceptual, more inward looking, a narrative where the personal becomes political. Musically this harks back towards the simpler acoustic beginnings of this artist’s career.
Many of the stories here concern troubled individuals struggling to survive, trying to find friendship and love. On Alibi we hear the story of an addict, and the song begins with the heartbreaking plea ‘you don’t have to die / if you don’t want to die’. The song is a way to try and understand the addiction trap, while at the same time learning to let go of guilt and save yourself.
On Buffalo catching an animal becomes a metaphor for taking your time in relationships and for freedom itself. After this soft open, Hawkmoon brings back the pulsating spirit of Hungry Ghost. Alynda tells the story of how they ended up ‘becoming the kind of girl they warned me about’. The time they spent as a wild and untamed young runaway opened up their mind, helped them find kindred spirits, helped them become an artist. However many others did not survive to tell their stories. On this album the underdogs and outcasts are vividly brought back to life. The album also honours their recently deceased father, a voice on the telephone, preserved here on the album’s outro.
The theme of the album is clear: the past haunts, scars run deep. Songs like Colossus of Roads and Hourglass are vulnerable, exploring personal insecurities and suffering even in the face of redemptive love. On Snake Roads (The Past is Still Alive) loss and addiction are impossible to escape. The song optimistically references Narcan – a shot to the heart of hope not death. Fittingly the treatment is being given away for free at the HFTRR US tour, offering fans a chance to potentially save a stolen life.
The last two HFTRR albums ended with epic emotional gut punches, and Ogallala continues in that same vein. We are transported to Nebraska, a snapshot of the singer’s past, escaping from police, being on the run. From there we’re right through the present day where they ask ‘what do I do with that terrible feeling?’. The answer is the same for every artist: transform it into something else. When they sing about playing as the Titanic sinks it’s a welcome reminder than even when all is lost, music helps.
So yes, we’re all right on time to watch the world burn, soundtracked by one of the most outstanding talents of our generation. The Past is Still Alive is another vital addition to a discography which will resonate long into the future.
Highway Queens 
…together with sierra ferrell’s “trail of flowers” and katie pruitt’s “mantras” one of the most captivating albums i’ve come across so far in 2024.
LikeLiked by 1 person