Bry Webb - Provider (2011)

Provider is the first album by Bry Webb as a solo artist, who until recently was best known as the principal singer and songwriter for legendary rock band Constantines. An album of mature narratives sung in Webb’s distinctive voice, Provider’s songs feel at once personal and universal, ranging from moving tributes to honest confessions highlighting an intimacy only hinted at in the past.

Produced with Jeff McMurrich (Jennifer Castle, Owen Pallett, Sandro Perri) and accompanied by lap steel player Rich Burnett, pedal steel player Mike Brooks, and upright bassist Tyler Belluz, the bulk of the album was recorded entirely live off the floor. The results are organic, eerie and minimal and provide the perfect backdrop for Bry’s literate and detailed narratives. However, there are some departures from this approach: Undertaker is a gorgeous poetic rumination on life and death filled with stunning imagery perfectly set to a Colin Stetson (Bon Iver, Laurie Anderson) horn arrangement, while Ex-Punks provides a sly nod to Bry’s past and hangs electric guitars atop a thumping bass heavy beat.