2 keepers
keeper avg .143
I've been dreading writing about this album because it's mostly political and I don't review politics. When one person's conscience is another's virtue-signaling/cancelling and one person's conscience is another's man-splaining/toxic masculinity/something-phobia the chances of any two random people having any discussion with anything approaching consensus or even basic civility are virtually zero. It's exhausting and panic-inducing. So here's me just dum-de-dum expressing an opinion in the most toxic venue in the known universe, the internet. At least not many people will find out.
Another thing about political songs is what happens to their relevance/relatability when the tides of history change; will "Reverie" with "we won't know where we stand 'til December" survive generations like "four dead in Ohio" or will it be shackled to its time in history? Anyway, it's the kind of head-bobbing Americana rocker we would expect from Son Volt. About half the album similarly rocks, including the crunchy "The Globe," which references the Who classic "Baba O'Reilly," the deliberate, mid-tempo "These Are the Times," and the self-consciously Boss-inspired "Living in the USA." But the martial "Someday Is Now"**** packs the most powerful punch, as Jay Farrar's angular fourth-chords create palpable tension. Elsewhere Farrar further explores the Americana spectrum, including soul via Faces in the waltz-time "Lucky Ones," minimalist blues "War on Misery," and a few modest country/folk ballads including "Sweet Refrain", "Rebetika", and "Diamonds and Cigarettes" which is dominated by Laura Cantrell's harmonies.
We also get a history lesson with "The Levee on Down." Lines that seem to have one meaning in 2019 under the reign of the He Who Shall Not Be Named seem to have a different intent under the power structure of 2024 and I think "The Globe" especially tips Farrar's hand. Finally, I think with the film "Civil War" being just part of pop culture entertainment now anyone can understand the hope and angst, but also hopefully the empathy in the album-closing piano ballad "Like You"****, asking "Will there be a world we recognize, With heads in the sand, sirens of hell to pay....What will be that world"
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