What a courageous and brilliant start to an album, “There were spiral bloodspots on the ceiling / I was woken by all the screaming”, James’s voice totally unaccompanied on the opening song ‘Drunk In Montreal’: an echo of the great folk tradition that weaves a thread throughout.
‘Road Killers’ is bright, breezy and bouncy, a country–folk tale of a road accident about to happen, charming and macabre in equal amounts. The waltz of ‘You Got Me To Blame’ is slow and delicious, great chorus with fiddle and mandolin splashing colour across its canvas.
The shortest song on offer, ‘Now I’m Your Man’, just James and guitar, has great lines comparing men and women, concluding that “It’s not so hard being a man” based on the observation that childbirth is one mother (sorry, no pun intended) of a thing for women to have to cope with. ‘Self Retribution’ is the closest to a full blown epic with swirling pedal steel and swooning backing vocals. ‘Glory Mark’ is a country hop with banjo, fiddle and harmonica dancing their way around the slightly bemused sounding vocals. Nursery rhymes come to mind when listening to ‘Spider On The Window’ a banjo led waltz that could easily be sung in schools throughout the country.
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The album closes with the title track and in a flight of fancy I imagine the addition of drums and electric guitar that could see the song nestle comfortably within the confines of an Uncle Tupelo or early Wilco album, but great in its own format anyway.
James Summerfield has a strange but pleasing vocal style that suggests authenticity but arrives just one step short, no bad things as it offers a style that is quite unique. His songs are intriguing and sufficiently varied to hold your attention throughout and the playing is infused with great enthusiasm and verve. Great stuff.
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