As the resident Poet Laureate of Drag City, Bill Callahan only has two albums between his former moniker as Smog, but in this small gap of time we’ve seen a drastic evolution of style that would take most artists a lifetime to flesh out. On his newest effort Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle, Callahan’s protagonist, whether autobiographical or a fictional character, has finally abandoned his teenage spaceship.
Those familiar with 2007’s Woke on a Whaleheart will have noticed the increasing absence of tension in Callahan’s songwriting, which by contrast can make his newfound spaciousness seem almost intimidating, or possibly threatening to his artistic process. But can we really ask to him remain in the same winter-rate motels full of malignant claustrophobia that gave us a jarring shot of voyeurism and schadenfreude on albums like Julius Caesar? His final offering as Smog, 2005’s A River Ain’t too Much to Love, proved that he could burst through his type-cast as a gloomy lo-fi artisan, holding some of his best songs to date, and this new record provides further reassurance with it’s refined gospel splendor.
The opener “Jim Cain” allows the languid baritone to breathe deep. Even when delivered with the deadpan enthusiasm of a Walmart greeter, his voice attains a staggering presence against the gentle picking and sweeping violins. Sometimes I Wish is full of lush arraignments by Brian Beattie, but the vocals are the still the album’s focal point. The Instrumentation is there to aid narration more than create an atmosphere, and this can leave them standing fairly naked on their own, not as developed as some of the more accomplished orchestrations like Whaleheart’s “Sycamore”. Nevertheless, it works beautifully to compliment Callahan’s honed vocal nuances, relishing in his bright colloquialisms á la Breece D’J Pancake or a confederate Lou Reed.
“The Wind and the Dove” begins with a sliding Arabic cello that has a slight air of foreboding menace to it, almost touching base with fellow folk misanthropes Angels of Light or Current 93. “Rococo Zephyr” has a delicate harp-like guitar dancing up and down a simple scale with a minimal drum trotting along. As the base smooths out the lower register and a distant piano washes over us, we find Callahan at his most accessible and serene, even drawing some comparisons to Leonard Cohen.
Callahan has stated that this album was largely composed during a fit of sleeplessness, and themes of exhaustion permeate throughout. “Too Many Birds” is a tender musing on futility and wandering restlessness, “You fly all night to sleep on stone,” he sings describing the toll it takes when you don’t have somewhere to settle down. “Invocation of Ratiocination,” is a tongue-twister and a puzzling interlude of water-logged ghost wails and nervous piano. Maybe if nothing else, it’s a nod to his dormant need for subversion, or an innate human need to undermine harmony. The album proceeds to close with “Faith/Void” which, at almost ten minutes, I would assume is the longest song he’s ever written. A true polaroid of spiritual reevaluation that comes with approaching your mid-life that all those Broken Social Scene side-projects try so hard to capture. “It’s time to put God away,” he repeats over and over as the epic closer builds upwards.
When Callahan sings, “I started telling the story/Without knowing the end/I used to be darker/Then I got lighter/Then it got dark again,” it comes off as good summary of his career so far. Sometimes I Wish is an honest reflection on a lifetime of musical impulsiveness and risk-taking. Occasionally, with such a strong emphasis on lyrics (he claims to write them before any of the instrumentation) it almost seems like nowadays he’d be better suited as a novelist, but when they’re pronged with such confidence, no eggshells to tip-toe around, we can’t help but be won over, and those who listen will be rewarded with one of his most cohesive albums ever. Vulnerable, unapologetic, and full of soul, Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle is a warm gesture in a music scene steeped in irony.
You can grab it from Drag City on April 14th.
Fagen-Becker Quality Rating
MP3 :::
Bill Callahan – Too Many Birds
Bill Callahan – Jim Cain
