Katie Moore & Andrew Horton

Katie Moore’s music has always challenged quick categorization by laying its hat on the hooks between folk, Americana, country and 70’s Southern California. Her latest album examines her favourite aspects of the roots of country and bluegrass: harmony singing. Six More Miles (Fat Rainbow Records) is a duets album recorded with Andrew Horton, who has served as bassist in Katie’s band for over 10 years and who fronts the Firemen, a shit- kickin’ country band that has brought the honky-tonk back to Montreal. The album was recorded live over two days at Mixart Studio in Montreal by producer Warren Spicer, and features some of Montreal’s sharpest musicians, including Joe Grass (Patrick Watson, Barr Brothers) on dobro and mandolin, Sage Reynolds (Jordan Officer) on bass, and Alex Kehler (Soulwood) on fiddle and nyckelharpa – an old-time Swedish stringed instrument similar to the hurdy-gurdy but sounded with a bow instead of a wheel. Inspired by the warm sounds of classic country albums such as Merle Haggard’s Roots Vol. 1, the songs on Six More Miles are anchored by Katie and Horton’s lush vocals and emboldened with simple arrangements.

Katie’s 2015 album, Fooled by the Fun was declared “one of the strongest Americana releases by a Canadian this year” by No Depression, while her 2011 album Montebello won a GAMIQ award as well as the Socan Songwriting award. This new recording, Six More Miles, showcases Katie and Andrew’s effortless harmonies. The two have been singing together, on stage and off, for years. The album features a curated playlist of the duo’s favourite traditional country and bluegrass songs, from Hank Williams’ “Six More Miles,” performed here in a plaintive version with only voices and nyckelharpa; to “Wild Bill Jones,” an up-tempo bluegrass version of a traditional song that was first recorded in the 1920s. The album also includes originals, including Katie’s “Blue Days,” an open- tuning finger-picking missive about loss, “When We Reach the Valley,” a secular gospel song about hopeful despair, Andrew’s beautiful instrumental guitar tune, “Owen’s Lullaby” and his heart-wrenching, classic tear jerker “Since My Baby Been Gone.”