5 keepers
keeper avg .385
After being on hiatus since 1999 Jay Farrar formed a (almost) completely new Son Volt line-up for his fourth album come-back. Opening track "Bandages & Scars"****, is energetically driving but melodic guitar lines ingeniously make it sound contemplative at the same time. Though the totally non-repeating verses in "Who"**** go maybe a few chords too far, they go to interesting places along the way, before resolving in a catchy Beatle-esque chorus. Anxious verses give "6 String Belief"***** an infectious tension, though the powerfully melodic bridge is the high point of the entire album.
Of course "Afterglow 61" and "Endless War" show that Farrar never met a Neil Young with Crazy Horse move he wouldn't nick, though it's Uncle Neil in solo piano ballad mode that inspired the pretty closing track "World Waits for You"****, which is followed by a satisfying 2-minute full-band reprise. Elsewhere a wonderfully resonant Indian drone gives "Medication"**** distinctive atmosphere, same for the loose, quietly stirring introduction of "Chaos Streams," and points for working the word "Ipecac" into an acoustic ballad. "Jet Pilot" rocks but in a way we've heard before, specifically with his first big hit "Drown" (1995) (as well as Black Crowes "One Mirror Too Many" from about the same time).
Comments