Paula Boggs Band: "Sumatra" (2026) CD Review

Paula Boggs is a singer and songwriter who had a somewhat unusual career before forming the Paula Boggs Band, a career that included a stint in the armed forces, work as an attorney, and an executive position at Starbucks. Not the typical career trajectory leading to fronting a band, but Paula Boggs is not the typical singer. And like she has not felt tied to one job, or one type of job, she is not tied to any single musical genre, her music deftly blending elements of soul, jazz, folk, country, blues and rock. Her new album, Sumatra, contains mostly original material, along with a couple of traditional numbers. The band is made up of Darren Loucas on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, dobro, banjo, mandolin, baritone guitar, lap steel, ukulele, harmonica and backing vocals; Paul Matthew Moore on piano, percussion and backing vocals; David Salonen on upright bass, fiddle, acoustic guitar and backing vocals; Daniel Walker on piano, synthesizer, Mellotron, electric piano and accordion; Jacob Evans on drums and percussion; and Tor Dietrichson on percussion. There are also some special guests on certain tracks.

The album opens with its title track, "Sumatra," which has an unexpected spiritual bent at the start, voices chanting. These are members of the Evensong Choir of Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle. The guitar soon comes in and the music then begins to build, taking over. As the volume and power of the instruments rise, the chanting voices are overtaken. And once they are gone completely, Paula Boggs comes in on vocals. An interesting way to begin things, this puts us in a rather somber mood, which works for the song. Soon she raises her voice for the lines, "Wafting autumn inspires me to find places to dream, stream, scream revolution/Babies are caged/Are we enraged?" By then, we are completely captivated by the music, by the passionate vocal work. This track features some wonderful percussion. Toward the end, the music itself feels like a chant, a mantra, even before those voices from the beginning return. Paula Boggs Band goes a different direction with "Bard Of Vietnam," the fiddle setting a different tone. It begins as a solid storytelling folk song, with bluegrass elements, and then touches upon death. "When you're young, death's the last thing on your mind/But the older you get, the more friends leave you behind." And check out these lyrics: "My mama lives next door/I see her weathered skin/They say we look alike/Some say we're twins/Her eyes tell a story/I read between the lines."

"Route 66" is an original song, not a cover of the well-known Bobby Troup song. It begins with some gentle, thoughtful guitar work, which sets the tone. Here are the first lines: "Sixty-six candles adorn this cake/Sixty-six reminders of wins and mistakes/I'm not sure how I got to this place/But I'm happy to be here now." Yes, it's a song about aging, a birthday providing an opportunity to take an honest look at one's life. Soon she sings, "Reminding me time heals almost everything." It's true, but we get so little time for that healing to take place. This is something that's been on my mind a lot lately. We must make the most of the time we have. Another line that stands out to me is "History only teaches what we want to learn." What worries me is that these days people don't want to learn anything at all. "Route 66" is followed by "Still Grateful," which has a pretty sound, in part because of the fiddle, and features some nice backing vocals. It's a song of being momentarily physically separated from that special someone, but still having that person with us in a meaningful way. And it contains a passionate vocal performance, one that is full of love. It isn't until the second half that we learn this love song is about "Just a girl loving a girl," openly and gratefully. I think humanity has made very little progress, but this is one area where some progress seems to have been made.

One of my personal favorites on this album is "Note To Quinn." I am totally taken with the sound of this one from its cool opening, the combination of the banjo and electric guitar, those two different sounds creating an interesting atmosphere and vibe, and preparing us for a song that sort of takes place in two times. And Paula's vocal approach is different for this one, leaning more toward spoken word. I love the way she delivers the line "You might not recognize/America," with that pause before the word "America." And I love how the electric guitar responds. This song addresses someone long gone, taken too soon, updating the person on the state of things, both in this country and in her personal life. "You'd like my gal/Wish you knew her/Wish you'd met/Wish you knew/We tied the knot. For real/For real. For real." Arietta Ward provides backing vocals on this track. That's followed by "Traces Of You." Some passionate work on harmonica establishes the atmosphere of this one. And then the cello comes in, gorgeous, moving. That's Josh Neumann on cello. This track had me almost in tears. It's a song that Paula Boggs has recorded before, first including it on her A Buddha State Of Mind album, and then on Electrokitty Sessions. This version is quite different, an instrumental rendition, feeling like a lament, perhaps for the person addressed in "Note To Quinn." Paula Boggs plays acoustic guitar on this track. Daniel Walker is on accordion. The harmonica returns at the end. This ended up being another of my favorite tracks.

"Wasting Young Man" is a song with its own special power, a song with vivid characters. "Depression is his widow's weed/He longs for a woman who his will never be." This track contains one of the album's best, most interesting vocal performances. There is also some great work on fiddle, and some really nice stuff on piano. The whole atmosphere of this song is effective and exciting. Paula Boggs Band then gets more into blues territory with "Airline Boogie." I love the Gershwin reference early on ("Rhapsody In Blue" is one of my favorite pieces of music). Flying ceased to be enjoyable a couple of decades ago, but it has become more stressful in the last year or so, since the convicted felon and his fellow morons took over the government. There is more anxiety associated with air travel than ever before. The current fascist government has made everything dangerous through incompetence and greed and indifference and stupidity. "Anxiety climbs the higher we go/Can't even see the ground no more."

All of the tracks so far were written by Paula Boggs. The final two tracks, however, are traditional numbers. The first is "The Snow It Melts The Soonest," here with an arrangement by Paula Boggs. This wonderful rendition features some pretty work by James Falzone on penny whistle. The second is "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round," Paula Boggs Band delivering a delightful, empowering rendition, a fantastic mix of jazz and gospel elements. Valerie June and the Blind Boys Of Alabama join Paula on vocals for this one. "Ain't gonna let no hatred turn me round." James Falzone delivers excellent work on this track too, this time on clarinet. "Ain't gonna let injustice turn me round." Hatred and injustice are part of the official government platform these days. But the people need to keep on, despite what those bastards do. This song is an absolutely wonderful way to wrap things up.

CD Track List

1. Sumatra
2. Bard Of Vietnam
3. Route 66
4. Still Grateful
5. Note To Quinn
6. Traces Of You
7. Wasting Young Man
8. Airline Boogie
9. The Snow It Melts The Soonest
10. Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round

Sumatra was released on March 27, 2026.