Chambers DesLauriers – Our Time to Ride
9 tracks/41 minutes
Annika Chambers and Paul DesLauriers are a tightly-bonded musical couple, and their new album, Our Time to Ride, reflects the depth and strength of their bond. Four of the nine tracks can be categorized as love songs. This couple came from different worlds – Chambers is from Houston, TX and DesLauriers is a French Canadian from the small town of Cornwall in Ontario, across the St. Lawrence River from the state of New York. It was blues music that brought them together – they met in January 2018 during the International Blues Challenge in Memphis and immediately clicked, and married in 2019. The world became more aware of the musical power of this couple when they released their first record, Good Trouble, in 2022. The new record displays an intriguing union of Chambers’ gospel singer passion with the DesLauriers’ blues-rock guitar chops. Chambers is a fabulous front woman, and her live performances are high-energy affairs.
One Time to Ride is a collection of all-original songs written mostly by Chambers and DesLauriers; producer and background vocalist Eric Corne contributed one track and received songwriter credit along with the couple on five other tracks. All the songs are blues-based, but there is very little adherence to the 12-bar format. These are songs with bridge sections and some surprising riff-based extensions and harmonic variations. The overall production of this record is excellent; Chambers and DesLauriers are supported by eight musicians, including a horn section and background vocals. The result is a rich ensemble sound that is artfully mixed by Corne and his colleagues at Forty Below Records. This label is becoming a force in the blues world. Charlie Musselwhite, Sugaray Rayford and the late great Joe Louis Walker are all on the Forty Below roster of artists.
The album kicks off with I Love You Just the Same, a hard-rocking, mid-tempo track based on an eight-bar blues in B minor. Chambers unleashes her powerful alto to deliver the song’s message about the resilience and consistency of her love. I was impressed by her emotionally expressive delivery, agility and vocal resonance. DesLauriers delivers solid slide guitar solos. The refrain of “I love you just the same” and searing guitar licks carry the tune to a satisfying conclusion.
People Gonna Talk is an “ignore the haters” song. It has a meaty, Americana vibe with some punchy horn lines. At times, Chambers reminds me a bit of Bonnie Raitt, and I like her gospel call-and-response with her background singers on this track. Written in the Stars is another mid-tempo, rocking love song. Chambers’ rich voice and rhythmic drive propels this track. Believe in Love begins as a mid-tempo ballad with a beat. It opens with a reverb-soaked guitar riff from DesLauriers. Chambers kicks off the song in a duo with her husband. This song builds in intensity throughout, with Chambers leading a chorus of background singers repeating the song title as DesLauriers shreds furiously until the end of the track.
Sing was written by producer Corne and is a plea for compassion. This ballad’s chorus urges people to “sing for the silent, sing for the suffering.” The track closes with DesLauriers’ guitar gymnastics. Temperature One-O-Nine is a funky celebration of carnal pleasure. The prominent horn lines add a Tower of Power flavor to this song, and DesLauriers breaks out his wah-wah pedal for his solos. In The Heart of The Night has a heavy backbeat and is a tribute to New Orleans-style musical partying.
The title track, Our Time to Ride has a chugging train rhythm. This is a chest-thumping declaration of Chambers DesLauriers’ musical power. It is followed by the album’s longest track, One in a Million, which is another love song. This ballad starts out with DesLauriers’ solo guitar supporting Chambers’ passionate vocal. Sasha Smith enters the song with a sustained drone on the organ. DesLauriers steps up for a solo vocal on this track – his only lead vocal on this album. One in a Million is a sincere and unapologetically sentimental recounting of a personal love story. The track builds intensity with the addition of a harder rock beat and a driving bass line. The tune closes with a return to a quiet solo guitar.
This is a solid, mainstream blues rock record with some creative twists, serious vocal power from Chambers and guitar virtuosity from DesLauriers. This record was mostly recorded live, and it has great authenticity due to this approach. Our Time to Ride should please folks who like contemporary blues mixed with some soul and rock.
