Zacc Harris: American Reckoning

There is something quietly compelling about guitarist-composer Zacc Harris's continued revisiting of the American songbook. Rather than treating these familiar melodies as museum pieces, he treats them as living conversations spanning generations. In American Reckoning, his reunion with longtime collaborators Matthew Peterson on bass and Lars-Erik Larson on drums deepens the exploration, which is both musically adventurous and emotionally resonant. Throughout, the trio reshapes a set of nine well-known songs through inventive reharmonizations, shifting metres, and subtle textural interplay.

The album opens with "Amazing Grace," but do not expect a comforting hymn. Harris immediately darkens the landscape, letting the familiar melody emerge from unexpectedly shadowed harmonies. Within this affective statement, Peterson delivers a strong solo. On "Hard Times," Stephen Foster's enduring lament is carried by an easy 12/8 sway that softens none of its quiet sadness. The melody glides with unforced grace, while Peterson and Larson create a rhythmic undercurrent that propels the number forward.

The traditional "House of the Rising Sun" receives one of the session's more imaginative reimaginings. Set in 7/4, the song's odd meter creates just enough instability to make the oft-recorded standard sound remarkably fresh. Peterson is an early, enthusiastic participant, and an extended vamp gives the trio room to stretch without losing sight of the song's resonant narrative.

The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson wrote "God Only Knows," which may be the album's emotional core. Harris preserves the melody's unmistakable tenderness while surrounding it with harmonies that continually shift and resolve in surprising ways.

Thoughtful arrangements can only carry a project so far, and what gives these performances their lasting connection is the quiet trust among the musicians. Built on many years of shared history, the group has a collective intuition that makes even the most familiar melodies feel spontaneous and very much alive.

Harris's lone original, "Another Folk Song," slips so naturally into the program that it could be mistaken for a traditional melody. Set in a spacious rubato, Harris delivers the composition with the quiet inevitability of something rediscovered rather than newly composed.

The closing pair of Bob Dylan anthems provides a fitting conclusion. "I Shall Be Released" begins almost meditatively, with the trio establishing a quiet drone before the melody slowly emerges. Settling into its understated groove, the performance conveys a sense of release that is earned rather than declared. Finally, Harris performs "Masters of War" on acoustic guitar, without adornment or distraction. The stark simplicity lends Dylan's message renewed weight and a lingering sense of reflection.