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Chloe and Connor Ward of Chloe & the Steel Strings are the Nicks and Buckingham of Toledo Americana music, without the personal drama.
They craft country style music for people who hate country music. Yes, there’s plenty of steel guitar on their new album “Never Coming Back,” courtesy of Dave Cubbedge of local outlaw country-rock band Locoweed, but Chloe’s lead singer aesthetic leans more to the alt-country stylings of Neko Case or Lucinda Williams. With her husband, Connor, and her sister, Anna Garrison, and fellow members Cody Podsiadlo, Eric Stuehr and Pete Rodriguez providing the rich background rhythms, lead singer Chloe Ward’s sweet but trying voice cuts through to deliver a sound that’s by turns tuneful and heartbreaking.
New release
“Never Coming Back” is an album whose genesis began with a road trip. “Connor and I went on a road trip out west about three years ago and a lot of the songs are inspired by this journey and the concept of leaving behind the life that you knew and going on a magical adventure, which is what music is for us,” said Chloe.
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For the Wards and their bandmates, that “adventure” is music, although, Chloe says, “Never Coming Back” speaks to the dreams that all people have deep within them. “Our biggest value as a band is just the idea that you can pursue anything you want to in your life. No dream is too small, or too big, or unreachable. In our society, there’s this idea that chasing a dream is seen as being foolish and I just hope that the concept of this album helps prove that it’s not unrealistic to pursue what you love and your dreams are real and you have them for a reason.”
Continuing to grow
Chloe & the Steel Strings’ debut album, “Burn Bright”, received positive notices from both local and national music critics, with comparisons to early Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead.
Connor believes the band’s new album charts their growth as a musical unit. “When I hear this newest batch of songs, it’s really a step up as both a writer and performer from the last album,” said Connor. “’Burn Bright’ is a great album and I still love it, but I can hear how we’ve matured — our songwriting has gone further and there’s more depth and more layers than what we’ve done in the past.”
For Chloe, “Never Coming Back” is a line in the sand, marking the band’s progress and commitment to their craft. “To us ‘Never Coming Back’ means that we’re committing to this dream of ours … to keep doing it . . .” That sounds about right.
Chloe & the Steel Strings present an album release party for “Never Coming Back”, Friday, September 19, at Riverside BBQ, 915 N. Summit St. Doors at 8. Music at 8:30. $10. www.chloeandthesteelstrings.com
