Lara Hope And The Ark-Tones: “Here To Tell The Tale” (2021) CD Review

Lara Hope And The Ark-Tones are an energetic band based in Kingston, New York, delivering fun rockabilly, country and rock and roll music. They released their first album, Luck Maker, in 2014, and followed it in 2017 with Love You To Life. Now they have a new album coming out, Here To Tell The Tale, which features all original material. They actually were finishing this album early in 2020, but the pandemic put the album’s release on hold. Now that things are opening up and bands are able to tour again, we are getting a chance to enjoy this excellent new release. And yes, the band is hitting the road, with the album release party scheduled for June 26th in Woodstock, New York. The band is made up of Lara Hope on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Matt Goldpaugh on upright bass and backing vocals, Eddie Rion on lead guitar and backing vocals, and Jeremy Boniello on drums and backing vocals. Joining them on this release are Matt Jordan on piano, Hayden Cummings on saxophone, Rosie Rion Porco on fiddle and cello, and Bobcat Arkham on baritone guitar. MaryKate Burnell, Sarah Perrotta, Erica Pivko and Liz Harrington provide backing vocals.

The album opens appropriately enough with a song titled “Let’s Go!” And yes, it’s exactly the right way to set things in motion. This lively song is a whole hell of a lot of fun, with that great rockabilly guitar and rhythm, and those energetic vocals. “I ain’t got no time to waste,” Lara Hope sings, and the party is underway. And anyone who listens will be eager to join. The fun continues with “Stop, Drop & Roll,” a song that puts a big, goofy, demented smile on my face, especially as she sings “Stop, drop and roll/Because he’s on fire.” That matter-of-fact delivery of the “fire” line gets me to picturing a man actually on fire, with Lara standing nearby, casually offering advice in between shots of whisky or something. Wonderful! And I totally dig the saxophone. This song is a delight.

The album’s title track, “Here To Tell The Tale,” is an enjoyable number that features some excellent work on guitar and a great bass line. This song includes that weak “shelf”/“self” rhyme, but it also includes these lines: “Time is always flying/And you’re the pilot/So go and make a memory/One you won’t forget/They may call you crazy/But I’ll call you alive/You’ll never know/Unless you go.” Yes! Get out there and live your life. The band offers more advice in the humorous and playful “Some Advice,” which follows, reminding us not to take them too seriously. This song moves and rocks, and I love the backing vocalists echoing the title line. Then halfway through this track, we hear bits of standard advice, sounding like messages left on an answering machine: “Take your vitamins, have children, clean your bedroom, pay your bills on time.” There is some great stuff on saxophone. This track ends on the playful line, “Whether you want it or not.”

“Whoa Is Me” is an amusing title that I can’t help but like, and it is totally fitting for this band. I can’t imagine Lara Hope doing a song titled “Woe Is Me,” not with that energy and that joy. Self-pity does not seem to be her thing. But “Whoa Is Me”? Absolutely! And yeah, this track is such great fun, and it features some excellent work on guitar. Rosie Rion Porco delivers some wonderful stuff on fiddle, and there is a surprising section of vocals and percussion before the end. Then “It’s A Crime” begins on a more somber, haunting note. It soon becomes a cool country number, featuring what is probably the best vocal performance of the album. Here is a taste of the lyrics: “It’s a crime/To never leave your home town/To never get to go down/To where the music plays.” This one is mellow. Well, mellow for these guys, anyway. It is followed by “Running In Circles,” that whistling at the beginning being so cool, taking us to the wild west. Soon the song kicks in to become a glorious ode to procrastination. “I’ve been telling all the neighbors that I’m going to get it done/But I’m not one to say no to fun.” Oh, that was clear from this album’s opening moments. And before the end, Lara Hope turns this song on itself with the line “I’ve been putting off writing this song about procrastinating.”

“Knocked Out” is a delightful, playful, jazzy number, in which Lara sings “When I sleep, I dream of you/ And when I do, there’s drool on my pillow/I’m knocked out just thinking about you.” I love this track’s ending, taking us to a different time with that nod to “Mr Sandman.” Then Jeremy Boniello begins “The Art Of Asking” on drums, and the tune establishes a mellower vibe at the start. Those backing vocals come as a delightful surprise, like doo-wop vocalists. The song then kicks in, and the vocals take on more power. “So don’t you be afraid to ask for something/Or you’ll get nothing.”  That’s followed by “12 Minutes Of Hot Water.” I totally appreciate this song, probably in part because the water in my building keeps getting shut off.  It is a playful, light song, and yet it does contain a message about conserving water, something those of us out in the west are undoubtedly cognizant of. Lara Hope And The Ark-Tones wrap up this album with “I Drink To Your Health,” which has an unexpected opening, with some glorious vocal work, almost like a religious service. Then of course it soon kicks in to become a lively number, its main line being “I drink to your health so damn many times that I’ve already ruined my own.” And the party that began on this album’s first track reaches a dramatic conclusion on this track.

CD Track List

1. Let’s Go!
2. Stop, Drop & Roll
3. Here To Tell The Tale
4. Some Advice
5. Whoa Is Me
6. It’s A Crime
7. Running In Circles
8. Knocked Out
9. The Art Of Asking
10. 12 Minutes Of Hot Water
11. I Drink To Your Health
    

Here To Tell The Tale is scheduled to be released on June 25, 2021 on Sower Records.