On album opener "Famous Tracheotomies," with washes of sunny keyboards and guitars, Will Sheff shares the pain of his childhood procedure with the likes of Gary Coleman, Mary Wells, Dylan Thomas, and Ray Davies.
When I had my tracheotomy
I was blue and had stopped breathing
There was something wrong with me
Doctors cut through the cartilage and skin
At the bottom of my throat
And then they snaked that trach tube in
As the track progresses and each famous person's trach trial is revealed, a peculiar kinship is formed that is strangely touching, culminating in the magic of the Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset." Not the typical way to start an album, but this is Sheff with a pen and mic in his hand, after all, his unique prose finding inspiration in unlikely subjects.
On 2005's phenomenal Black Sheep Boy, the Austin singer-songwriter moved in and out of anger and despondency, as if he had just arrived from driving all night from El Paso. The music reflected this southwestern trek, replete with border trumpets and picked-over strings, and the songs hung together like strange fairy tales hatched in a desert field or poured in the back of a lonely cantina.
Less ragged and spare than its melancholy predecessor, 2007's The Stage Names was full-bodied roots rock, wildly alive, brooding, and majestic. After some uneven but never boring records, 2016's Away emerged as Sheff's best record in years, arguably the prettiest collection of songs among his band's roughhewn poetry.
In the Rainbow Rain is Sheff's most joyful record to date. Lush, warm, and catchy, songs are packed with vibrant choruses, horns, and guitars, allowing Sheff to dispense soul-affirming wisdom with jaunty purpose. His wry judgment is still intact, but he leaves behind much of the skewering self-doubt from past affairs. The music courses with wide-eyed empathy.
"Don't Move Back to L.A." is the obvious single as it hops along with Sheff's warning to a friend. "Those west coast cats / They're going to chew you up and spit you out / They're going to waste your time and watch you drown." Avoid the concrete jungle, he urges, and stay home and get healthy. As Sheff played this song in concert during the summer, he sounded like a righteous folk preacher having a whale of a time.
"The Dream and the Light" and "Pulled up the Ribbon" are pulsing roots rock. Cascading keys, twisting guitars, and backing choirs throttle the songs into heady climaxes, adding two more off-kilter rockers to the band's formidable canon.
But the record's beating heart is its sincerity. "Love Somebody" is mid-tempo electro-pop with a simple message: if you're going to love somebody, you've got to lose some pride. Though potentially sappy, Sheff rescues the narrative with his conviction and the music's effervescence. "Family Song" is a glowing ballad with poignant messages to cousins, sisters, lovers, and enemies. "You're alive, I'm alive," Sheff sings as the song fades into beauty. "How It Is" is gospel instruction set to programmed beats and swelling horns:
You can't let yourself be selfish
You can't let yourself be sold
You gotta let your brother in from out the cold
You can't let your heart get tired
You can't let your head get told
You gotta let the outcast back into the fold
You know that's how it is now
You know you know I'm right now
That's how it is
After turning 40, Sheff seems confident, hopeful, and resilient. Okkervil River has always been his show, especially as band members have come and gone and the indie-rock scene has ebbed and waned. After more than twenty years in the business, Sheff's songwriting is teeming with life.
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