Americana Highways Review

No one really knows where musical talent comes from, especially in a non-musical family. And we’re not talking about hard work or repetition or even inspiration, but that innate ability that so few among us seem to naturally possess. Singer-songwriter Amy Speace slowly gained the acceptance, then admiration, then outright advocacy of her all-business father only after entering her forties. Her new album, There Used To Be Horses Here (Proper Records), explores the jumbled-up year of emotions between her son’s first birthday and the loss of her father, by then her biggest supporter.

The album begins with “Down the Trail,” which tells two stories – a memory from her father’s youth and the last hours of his life. Set up by two acoustic guitars and a mandolin, then bolstered by a small spring section, the song gives us the image of a carefree drive along the backroads of rural Maryland before transitioning into her father’s present-day goodbye – “Daughter my heart is ready/For that trail to take me home.” The family’s gathered – “Everyone’s come who is coming” – and hearts are breaking. But like that long-ago ride in a convertible, it’s freeing for Speace’s father, and it’s superb storytelling from his daughter.