Bean Weatherford (Photo by Malik Hall)
Within the clever musings and rustic jangle of songwriting on Richmond musician Bean Weatherford’s latest release,“Refried,” lies a dark sense of humor and a penchant for outlaw country. The eight tracks interchange playfully between murder ballads, songs of anguish symptomatic of love lost, world-weary commentary and a touch of self-deprecation.
Weatherford wields classic gallows humor in an homage to the commonwealth on the opening track, “Dead in Kentucky,” in which he sings, “ain’t nothing as beautiful as the Blue Ridge Mountains, or sittin’ by the Chesapeake Bay. And nothin’ beats drinkin’ in Richmond, Virginia, the place where all the women are completely insane.” Elsewhere on the album, he seamlessly alternates from the tenderness of “How Could You Be So Cruel,” to the throaty balladeering of “Ballad of Patty Joe Pulley,” while sneaking in an unexpected Hank Williams yodel on “Sun Going Down.”
“Refried” is a lo-fi production, which is fitting as cassette versions of the album are known to exist. Weatherford’s slight off-tuning and vocal cracks are part of the record’s charm, along with haunting swaths of pedal steel, organ, percussion, acoustic and electric guitar. The seasoned musician has stitched together a singular sound and feeling that blends folk, rock and something from the Western plains.
