ASTRA KELLY: Chasing the Light

Since 2006, Astra Kelly has been involved in the San Diego music scene, as a solo performer, band member, DJ, studio manager, and recording artist. Originally from the Midwest (her first CD was from 1996 and she started as a Chicago subway performer), she has been affiliated with noteworthy local players and writers like Marcia Claire, Cathryn Beeks, Bernadette Gallegos, Caryn Stringer, and Carissa Schroeder, among many others. Her music on ten recordings has been an acoustic hybrid, covering most of the bases from folk to soulful rock and all points in between, netting five nominations for San Diego Music Awards. Her remarkably sweet and clear vocals sing lyrics that are often personal and affecting, and many are co-written with other top local Americana artists, including Schroeder, Beeks, and Heather Janiga.

Kelly’s latest is Chasing the Light, and she has surrounded herself on 11 tracks with collaborators like Janiga (Podunk Nowhere), Jeff Berkley (who recorded and produced, with Kelly), Rick Nash, Melissa Barrison, Schroeder, Sam Johnson, Bob Sale, and Doug Pettibone. An impressive Owl Goddess tattoo is on the disc sleeve (and adorns Kelly); the release party at the Music Box on November 8 will showcase works by local artists inspired by the music.

The spiritual vibe of the album kicks right off with “Prelude (Head, Heart, Soul),” which also has Berkley’s fingerprint on it; Kelly is summoning her inner guiding lights for the journey, and they arrive with percussion, harmonies, and hands clapping. The title tune pushes the beat, but not hard, as she fronts an electrified arrangement with Berkley’s guitar and banjo prominent. “There are borders in between the strength and the fight/ That first waking moment chasing the light/ Pull the covers over or rise.” Kelly sounds right at home on this strong track. “The Less I Have (Freedom)” takes a lively, Gospel-inspired approach, and the percussion includes some rattled chains; her vocal again jumps out of the speakers. This track and “All Along” feature nice accordion playing by Luciano Gherardi that helps give the latter tune in particular a breezy, upbeat feel.

There is a full band and a big arrangement for “All That Matters,” a powerful ballad that starts small and intimate–to build big and soul-baring: “I’ve had enough, I’m standing ground/ I’m not the fool you think you found.” Strong work by Pettibone on pedal steel and Sale’s drums help make this a disc highlight. The full band is back on “Crumble,” and Kelly does a bit of soapboxing, making observations about the sorry state of affairs in these uncertain times–and wondering about those up on the hill that “let them crumble.” Co-writer Janiga and Kelly hit tight and sweet harmonies on “Twisted” as Barrison’s violin and Berkley’s banjo weave the fabric for an unusual piece of pleasing country-folk. The set wraps with “The Road,” as Kelly sums up her trip by telling her lover where she stands, and that she wouldn’t change anything. Sung to the best rock guitar hook on the disc, it’s a rousing conclusion to a new, inspired collection of roots music by Astra Kelly.