Album review: Reina del Cid’s Morse Code record is a lesson in songwriting

Reina Del Cid has released a new album, Morse Code and it is nothing less than an impressive, an intellectual exercise of masterful songwriting and musicianship. The record actually dropped back on October 4 with a release show in Minneapolis and I’m finally able to file an album review. Been chomping at the bit to share it with you.

If you’re unfamiliar with Reina (born Rachel Cordova), she is a singer/songwriter and namesake of the independent folk-rock act based in Minnesota. The group has a major presence on YouTube with their Sunday Mornings with Reina del Cid which has amassed over 34 million views according to the band. I reviewed her last year with a follow up review of a live show in Houston. Nearly passed over sharing this release, but I could not help myself. It is one of the most exciting pieces of music I’ve come across in a while.

I have enjoyed Reina del Cid’s previous offerings, each was splendid in its own right.  The recordings displayed her talent warmly and effectively. But Morse Code is my kind of record. It sounds like her “Sunday Mornings with Reina del Cid” YouTube program, which is usually her and longtime guitar player Toni Lindgren or just Reina by herself with a guitar, showcasing her soft yet knowing vocals, and often lending them to traditional country, folk or rock classics.

Morse Code is brilliant in its spartan production. It isn’t “stripped down” as they like to say, it just never feels like it was ever weighed down with high production “mojo”. It has everything you need, and nothing you don’t. The record plays as intimate as a single spring raindrop across a windowpane. You feel like not only is Reina and her band right there with you, in your living room, car, nature walk, but as if they were deliberately singing just for you and only you. As if each and every selection were drafted, crafted, and cut to your liking and pleasure.

                      
Do not be fooled into thinking the album is a “bare bones” venture into a one-shot acoustic novelty. This is music perfectly recorded and mastered, taking us right up to the edge of perfection, and resting there just to be coy. It wasn’t slapped together on the fly, but obviously created by devotion to talent, born of love of music, and gathered into a near spiritual movement.

The musicianship is clean and concise, and never getting in the way of not only the whisper soft vocals, but likewise the brilliant songwriting. Above all, Reina del Cid is a writer of songs: A wordsmith with lyrical brilliance and resonating tones. You would never believe she hasn’t lived a hundred lives before. She seems to effortlessly craft stories of love, humor, tragedy, sorrow, and forgiveness, and wraps them all up into a smart package that sounds new and timeless all at once.  

All songs showcased here are solid, not a weak one of the twelve. I feel compelled to mention the title cut, “Morse Code” features Josh Turner who Reina toured with earlier in 2019. He’s in the clip above. He is an astounding and talented musician in his own right, and lends not only perfect harmony vocals, but sharp guitar work. I love this song, ’cause no matter what our hearts think, our brains know… “you don’t love me no more”.

I also especially am drawn to “Rubik’s Cube” for originality and personal appeal, “Common Man”, on account we all know one just like this fellow. (“What a burden to know everything, but you manage it so well”). The last song I want to mention is “Bernadette”. Simply put, this song feels sad, sexy, full of hope and despair, all at once. I can’t express enough how intellectual this project is, and how well it transcends taste, genre, and style and unfolds as one hell of a good album.

According to the band website, she’s touring with Toni Lindgren (guitar), Andrew Foreman (bass), and Nate Babbs (drums). The band is embarking on a national tour across major US cities in February. Reina is honestly the best thing in music today. Thirty-four million people have watched her on YouTube, if you’re not one of them, you are surely missing out.

Morse Code – Track listing:

1. Goodbye Butterfly
2. Bernadette
3. Sister Don’t Cry
4. Morse Code
5. Come Back Over
6. No 19
7. Common Man
8. Mile in Your Shoes
9. Rubik’s Cube
10. All Time Low
11. Blue Sky Armageddon
12. Hold Me Before I’m Gone Forever

Please follow and like us: