Della Mae’s previous albums have been filled with such heart, humanity and fierce feminism that I’ve always thought they were one of the most underrated bands in the Americana / Bluegrass space.
New album ‘Magic Accident’ was recorded in Nashville with producer Alison Brown, who also plays banjo on the album and has signed the band to her label Compass Records. This is an album showing the power of female collaboration, offering ten tracks of sunshine and strength.
Opening with knock out title track ‘Magic Accident’, written by singer Celia Woodsmith, they start by contemplating the eternal mysteries of life. In the end they take the same route as Iris DeMent and conclude: ‘I’m just a small piece of the great mystery / I don’t need to question any of my life’.
‘My Own Highway’ is about forging your own path and believing in your own journey, where they also reference their own classic feminist anthem ‘Headlight’. This one fits nicely alongside the song that inspired this blog too.
They speed up the tempo on the driving bluegrass song Family Tree, where secrets and generational trauma are dealt with head on. Music, in the form of a fiddle, is the hopeful inheritance that ties us to our past and to our future.
The middle of the album has a couple of sweet love songs in ‘I Compare Everyone to You’ and ‘Nothing At All’. The latter focuses in on the joy of the everyday, and is one of three tracks co-written with blog favourite Caroline Spence.
Another is ‘Out Run ‘Em’ where guitarist Avril Smith aims to inspire her athlete daughter by giving her some advice on how to be yourself and stand out. ‘You can’t blaze a trail from the middle of the pack…Your own way is a mighty fine way to go.’ It’s such an inspiring and uplifting song, I nearly got off my sofa and put my running gear on.
Band founder and fiddle player Kimber Ludiker once said: ‘There’d be no Della Mae without The Chicks’ so it’s fitting they’ve decided to cover a song by Bruce Robison, who famously wrote their hit Travelin’ Soldier. Lifeline even sounds like a Chicks song but was actually originally on one of his solo records. It’s a brilliant slice of musical hope, with lead vocals by bassist Vickie Vaughn.
Classic country sounding ‘What You’re Looking For’ is a nice switch of pace towards the end of the album, giving us a defiant break up song.
They finish with the a cappella call to arms ‘Takes All Kinds’ – a reminder that to stand up and take action is something anyone and everyone can do.
Magic Accident is a welcome blast of hopeful colour, just absolutely perfect for this time of year. A headlight in the dark from a band who always bring the sun.
Highway Queens 
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