Earlier this evening, my friend...let's call him "Clint"...texted me.
Clint: "What do you think about the new Cass McCombs album?"
I, in the midst of editing a paper for my girlfriend...let's call her "Holly"...was entrenched in the bowels of MLA formats, rhetorical fallacies, and academic vocabulary (the kind of tunnel vision induced flowery language that walks the fine line between relative brilliance and positive bullshit), responded.
Stephen: "It's really just extras from his last album from what I see/hear. Cass has really hit a point where he can do little wrong in my eyes. It's like Jeff Tweedy. He could poop on some wax and I would find something artistic about the shape of the turd. Maybe I'm a little biased in that respect. But I think it's fun and has some really solid tracks. I really like the direction he's going and I f*cking love the production on these sessions. It's f*cking interesting, too. Mike Gordon from Phish is on some of these takes."
Surprisingly, 'Clint' didn't respond with "Why would anyone type that much in a text or speak in such disgusting idioms?"
And we ended up making plans to see Cass up in Nashville later this year.
My response was longwinded, but I stand by most of those comments. At that point, I'd only really listened to a couple of tracks on the way to work today. Needless to say I was impressed. Cass has never let me down thus far. It is fun. It's experimental and lively. It's inspired, different. Karen Black kills...again. Also, Bringing Mike Gordon in was a brilliant move, and the Phish bass man, as well as Joe Russo, one of my favorite drummers from way back, really rubbed off on Cass's songs (see "It Means a Lot to Know You Care", that could be a Hampton Jam next year, man.) PR-wise, I think it opens Cass up o a whole new audience. And I do still love this production. It's natural, as natural as two Cass McCombses singing in either ear can be. It's clean. Quiet and clean.
But calling them "just extras" from Humor Risk was doing the album a disservice. After a much needed (for every album) headphone session, I knew they were much more. "Risk" is a theme that runs through McCombs' songwriting. Betting it all on red. All the marbles. It seems like he is at risk of losing his at any time. He puts it all on the line with these songs, swinging with conviction from jazz to post-rock to pre-rock, R&B and everything in between. Destroying whatever's left of the walls of conventional songwriting at this point. As a songwriter, I'm jealous. As a fan, it's a real thrill ride.
Now, I have to admit, while I was hooked up to my laptop, I started to read Pitchf***k's review of this album. The writer talked about this influence and that. Dropping obscure 90's avant-garde references left and right. But after a while, I closed the window. You can't just reduce it to that. Songs like this have an air about them that deserves to be experienced.
So do.
https://soundcloud.com/dominorecordco/cass-mccombs-brighter
https://soundcloud.com/dominorecordco/cass-mccombs-there-can-be
No comments:
Post a Comment