Album Review : Chicago Farmer : Backenforth, IL
Mar 8, 2013 Album Reviews
Posted by
Adam
Chicago Farmer is the stage name for folk country artist, Cody Diekhoff. I had never heard of him until recently when I purchased my Todd Snider tickets for next week. Chicago Farmer was listed as the opener, so I reached out to get a copy of this record.
After listening to this record, it looks as though Chicago Farmer will join a long list of quality artists I’ve seen open for Todd, Backenforth, Il is a great slice of americana. Diekhoff’s vocals sound as though Neil Young swallowed Bill Monroe’s soul and somehow ended up based out of the midwest. The band that is behind him on this release deliver a tight sound rooted somewhere between raucous country and bluegrass that blends well with the vocals and lyrics.
I have no frame of reference to compare this to his former releases, but if Backenforth, Il is any indication of how good they are, I will be purchasing them in the near future. Time and time again, on this release, Diekhoff demonstrates a knack for penning clever, catchy lyrics that has you re-listening to the songs over and over.
As for my favorites on this one, I’ll start with the opener, “Everybody in This Town”, which could have been written in my hometown or any small city in the midwest for that matter. This song chronicles the downside to small town charm, everyone is aware of everything you get yourself into.
Coming a few tracks later is “The Twenty Dollar Bill”, the heartwarming tale of holding onto the memory of your grandparents and the clever use of the things they give you. The last track I will discuss is “Backseat”, a nice little love song that has Diekhoff proclaiming that everything and everyone take a backseat when the girl in his life is around.
My only complaint is that the record is too short, I would have like to have seen 2-3 more tracks on it. I recommend picking this up and checking out Chicago Farmer on line here. I will be reviewing the show with Snider next week, so I will let everyone know what I think of Diekhoff’s live show soon.
Tags: chicago farmer, neil young, todd snider
March 15th, 2013 at 2:34 am
[...] my tickets for this show, but have since gotten his latest record, a review of which can be found here. Diekhoff opened the show with three songs from earlier releases that I had not previously heard. I [...]