EAN: 5034202026921

In several sometimes perplexing ways, {|Cass McCombs|}' fifth full-length outing, {|Wit's End|}, veers moderately but decisively away from the appealingly direct, rootsy indie folk of its… Plus…

In several sometimes perplexing ways, {|Cass McCombs|}' fifth full-length outing, {|Wit's End|}, veers moderately but decisively away from the appealingly direct, rootsy indie folk of its predecessor, {|Catacombs|}. In its place is a stark, occasionally stifling collection of dark, literary, chamber folk, melodramatic piano balladry, and one sterling piece of country-pop classicism. Album-opener {|County Line|} is a quiet stunner: a mellow-grooving country-soul burner so achingly smooth you'd swear it was a turn-of-the-'70s chestnut from the L.A. soft rock scene -- a stray cut from the vaults of {|Asylum Records|}, perhaps, or maybe a particularly glossy tune by {|the Band|} -- complete with that iconic Fender Rhodes twinkle. (Its restrained melancholy and vintage-styled craftsmanship also call to mind {|Beck|}'s {|Sea Change|}.) But it's hardly an accurate indication of what's to come, at least musically: although several songs feature a similar instrumental palette, and the moody, subdued tone persists throughout, nothing else here is nearly as warm or winningly melodic. Lyrically, {|County Line|}'s tale of loss and rueful homecoming (seemingly about a hometown transformed by new development, rather than a doomed romantic relationship, though it could be both) is just a taste of the darkness and desperation that, as the album's title hints at, pervade these eight songs. Elsewhere, we get the desolate, jilted lover of the maudlin {|Saturday Song,|} the chilling {|Buried Alive|} (whose title is evidently not metaphorical), and the wracked {|Hermit's Cave,|} which plays like a gloomier variation on {|the Beach Boys|}' {|That's Not Me|} with an added dose of mysticism. When {|McCombs|}' often heavily stylized, antiquarian verse is paired with a suitably intriguing arrangement (as on {|Memory Stain,|} a forlorn piano waltz that gets some much-needed color and lift via accordion, bass clarinet, and a few well-placed castanets) or a decently forward-moving melody ({|Buried Alive,|} which is both tender and almost delightfully macabre), the results can be effective, if not exactly inviting. On the other hand, no amount of celeste can save {|The Lonely Doll,|} an overly precious fable set to a maddeningly harmonically static waltz -- with the title phrase repeated after every awkward couplet -- from being utterly insufferable. The album's most ambitious -- and, possibly excepting the incongruous {|County Line,|} most successful -- moment comes with nine-minute closer {|A Knock Upon the Door,|} a rambling narrative ballad and yet another waltz, this time with a rustic, old world lilt spiced up with a coolly sinister backing combo of banjo, bass clarinet, organ, chalumeau (a Baroque relative of the recorder), and found-sound percussion. It's the most potent and captivating expression of the gothic sensibility that runs through {|Wit's End|}, and one of a few potentially promising directions suggested by this odd, somewhat bewildering, and perhaps hopefully transitional effort. ~ K. Ross Hoffman Music>Music>Undefined Music>Undefined Music>Undefined Music, ** WHAT RECORDS *** Core >3<

EAN: 5034202026921

Buried Alive - County Line - Saturday Song - Hermit's Cave - Pleasant Shadow Song - A Knock Up... 0 Muziek Rock & Metal Alternatief true

EAN: 5034202026921

Buried Alive - County Line - Saturday Song - Hermit's Cave - Pleasant Shadow Song - A Knock Up... 0 Muziek Rock & Metal Alternatief true

EAN: 5034202026921

Musik / Pop

ISBN: 5034202026921

CD Audio