Some people measure life in years. Dave Coleman measures it in moments. And capturing the impact of a moment is what the singer, guitarist and principal songwriter of The Coal Men set out to do on "Beauty Is a Moment," the band's second full-length release.
For instance, there's the moment on the title track when a boy swings an axe and brings a glacier crashing down. "There was a cliff behind our old house where we used to go in the winter," Coleman reminisced of his Jamestown, Tenn., childhood. "We would take these bats and axes and break all the ice down. It was amazing to see it just crashing to the creek bed. It's one of those pure memories of growing up."
Or, more recently, the moments he, drummer Dave Ray and bassist “Hitch” Hitchcock spent recording "Beauty" at producer/engineer Brian Carter's Paradox Studios in rural Murfreesboro, Tennessee, not far from where the band was founded in 1999. "It's such a comfortable little house; it's like going to Grandma's," Recording "Beauty" live took just seven days at Paradox, amid Carter's collection of vintage amplifiers, tube pre-amps, microphones and a 16-track Ampex analog tape machine. "It was all done on analog so there's not a lot of changing once it's down. You kind of have to live with it and accept it for what it is, a musical moment" Coleman says.
A series of Polaroids taken during the sessions make up the album art. The first one, a moody shot of a telephone wire angled against a late November sky, graces the cover.
"Beauty," scheduled for April release, spans The Coal Men's full range of capabilities, from delicate acoustic stylings to straight-out rock, with a touch of country twang that hints at the band's Southern roots. Most of all, it's a collaboration of talents. In the past year, longtime friends Coleman, Ray and Hitch brought on friends - and seasoned performers - Chris Frame (Son Volt) on guitar and Jen Gunderman (The Jayhawks, Dag) ..boards. Together, the five perform with the assurance of musicians who've spent many a long night together - "one of Music City's strongest, nerviest rock acts," according to Tennessean music critic Peter Cooper.
Ultimately, though, the album rests on the songs honed by Coleman and friends Carter Little (Saddlesong), Robert Reynolds (The Mavericks), Mark Winchester (Brian Setzer Orchestra, Emmylou Harris) and Milan Miller (The Wrights, Jubal Foster.) The dozen tracks on "Beauty" show a definite maturing for Coleman, who signed with Acuff/Rose Publishing at 20 but has moved toward more of a rock vein in his songwriting, guitar playing and stage presence with The Coal Men, whose first release was 2004's critically-acclaimed "Nowhere's Too Far," produced by veteran singer/songwriter Bob Delevante (The Delevantes).
Just 26 years old, Coleman laughs when it's pointed out how many of his songs come from the wry viewpoint of the underdog, especially when it comes to romance on "Natural Wonder" (You are a natural wonder/And I was born to lose) or "On My Way Down," co-written with Miller (You’re movin’ up in the world/While I’m still on my way down.)
"There was no intention to make it a 'loser' song," he says of the latter. "We just wanted to write a simple song and make it all really relevant. The story line is about an ex-girlfriend who had dumped me and moved on and done really well. In retrospect, I'm really happy for her. I like that concept of the underdog. I don't know if it's humility or low self-esteem," he jokes. "Songwriting becomes therapy. When things are going great, rarely do I write a song about it."
Experience brings some hard lessons, as on the gentle "The Way You Needed Love," co-written with Robert Reynolds, that examines feelings that linger years after the end of a relationship, and "Cleveland Sky," written about a balloon festival Coleman played in Cleveland, Oklahoma.
"Because it was in Oklahoma, the winds blew the balloons to a different town," he recalls. "I guess when you go ballooning, there's no telling where you're going to end up. But I like that analogy to a relationship: even if you have a really good direction, you never really know where it's going to go."
And a clear sense yearning permeates the album, whether for simpler times in the laid-back blues rocker "Sweet In the Pines" (I would fall farther/I would love a little deeper/If we could start all over and do it again) or for love, in the infectious stomper "Outside Lookin' In" (Guys are gettin' lucky/Not me), a ready-for-radio crowd pleaser at live shows.
“Outside Lookin’ In” and "Delicate," the dark portrait of an ex-girlfriend on the verge of breaking, were co-written with Carter Little and also show up his 2005 release Dare to be Small.
Another song written with Little is “All the Same,” a rejection of a culture that keeps requiring more to be satisfied. "Everybody just wants it to be so full-throttle all the time," Coleman explains. "Everything's got to be so damn entertaining and so damn beautiful. Whenever you see something with subtlety, like a live show with dynamic range, or hear a song with a little depth, it’s hard to cut through to people who are bashed over the head with volume up to 10 entertainment. Everything can start to sound the same."
On "Beauty Is a Moment," The Coal Men prove that beautiful doesn't have to be full-throttle. They're fully capable of turning it up to 10. But they can also roll down the volume a notch.
Some of what the critics are saying:
PERFORMING SONGWRITER "The laid-back drawl of Coal Men lead singer Dave Coleman falls somewhere between Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Ronnie Van Zant and Alan Jackson. Bluesy Hammond organ and twangy, Allman Brothers-style electric guitar complete the Southern rock vibe on Beauty Is a Moment.
Highlights include “Pretty Girls,” in which a syncopated drum beat embellishes the chorus. “They can twist your arm, make you do what they want you to,” Coleman sings, describing the cloud in front of the silver lining. “Outside Lookin’ In” is another gem, this time on the poppier side, with a bouncing, harmony-laden chorus.
Songs are mostly populated with thoughts on relationships and childhood memories, but scattered throughout these familiar themes are shimmering dewdrops of lyrical poetry. “Beauty is a moment, like youth it cannot last,” Coleman sings in the title track, but it’s moments like these that will make this beauty of an album last." - Mare Wakefield
VINTAGE GUITAR MAGAZINE With the addition of Chris Frame (Son Volt) on guitar and Jen Gunderman (The Jayhawks) ..boards, The Coal Men have gone from trio to quintet and their second full-length release, Beauty Is A Moment, reflects creative growth that shows no sign of letting up. Composer and guitarist Dave Coleman – who wrote or cowrote most the disc’s 12 cuts – is the force behind much of what puts The Coal Men into the first rank of roots rock/alt country music.
Coleman writes with the fearless emotional candor that marks the best of Alabama songwriter Will Kimbrough’s work, and the band is just similar enough to the Jayhawks to invite favorable comparison. But despite Coleman’s slight, dismissible vocal resemblance to an earthier more soulful Jackson Browne, The Coal Men don’t really really sound like anyone else. Coleman’s songs have the naturalness of good conversation and unfold with the same freshness. A laconic but literate and expressive lyricist who isn’t afraid to let melody pull an equal share, he paints with fewer strokes than many, yet gets so much out of them. For him and the rest of the Coal Men, beauty is a moment – actually, a series of moments – and there are a wealth of fine ones (“Natural Wonder,” “Cleveland Sky,” “ Louisiana ”) here. Coleman and Frame’s guitars, Dave Ray’s deep-bucket Levon Helm-type drumming, the tight but unceremonious competence of the band, and the quality of the songs put the album outside of trends and vogue.
The next big thing always comes and goes, but everything about Beauty Is A Moment indicates a deservedly long and laudable musical life ahead for The Coal Men.
MUSIC ROW MAGAZINE "The Coal Men are one of my favorite Nashville bands. Leader Dave Coleman writes brilliantly and sings with soulful conviction. The striking imagery is in the new album's title tune: lyrics equaled by its fuzz-tone undertow bass line, slashing electric guitars, pounding percussion and sizzling organ/piano work. These folks deserve stardom, people." - Robert K. Oermann
THE TENNESSEAN "The Coal Men have risen from the ranks of Nashville up-and-comers to a spot as one of Music City's strongest, nerviest rock acts." — Peter Cooper
BOSTON HERALD
"This young quartet’s exhilarating mix of alt-country, roots-rock and pop might sound subversive in its stodgy Nashville, Tenn., hometown, but elsewhere its second album washes over the ears like a summer breeze. Featuring simple, sturdily built songs recorded on vintage gear in a mix that lets you hear the grain in the wood the instruments are made of, “Beauty Is a Moment” lives up to its title - and the Coal Men live up to their buzz." - Kevin R. Convey
NASHVILLE SCENE "Youthful cohorts The Coal Men lay down the roots with a tenacity that belies their tender years." — Jack Silverman
THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE (WV) "Nashville’s The Coal Men serve up a huge slice of Americana pie with their second full-length release, “Beauty Is A Moment.” Led by singer/guitarist Dave Coleman, this band manages to epitomize the best of Southern rock without sinking to a redneck stereotype. This is sophisticated rock-tinged pop with a genuine regional flavor." - Rudy Panucci
WESTERN BEAT RADIO "The Coal Men are a quadruple threat. They write great songs, their front-man is a phenomenal singer, they play the fire out of their instruments, and they produce everything with a radio friendly flair for detail." — Billy Block
