A Mega-review by Justin Weber
Albums covered:
Middle Cyclone by Neko Case
Hold Time by M. Ward
Little Hells by Marissa Nadler
Beware by Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy
Self titled by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
In recent weeks, KCSU has had a surge of folk music and folk derivatives added to our primetime rotation. All of them are solid records (do we add anything but at KCSU? I think not.) and all of them deserved to be featured on the website. Instead of taking up a ton of space and writing individual reviews, I felt it would be better to do one mega-review. So gather round the campfire and put a flower in your hair cause he we go.
Middle Cyclone by Neko Case
I am beginning to think that it’s impossible for Neko to make a bad record. Her vocals are excellent as usual, partly because of her noticeable lack of vibrato. This allows her purity of the tone to grab the listeners attention instead of the motion of the sustain. She caught my attention right away by writing the first song, “This Tornado Loves You”, from the perspective of a tornado ripping across the country. Another highlight for me was the tension in “Vengeance is Sleeping”. The final track is 32 minutes of natural sound and even though it might fit the tone of the record, it feels unnecessary to me. At least she put it at the end so I don’t feel bad skipping it.
Hold Time by M. Ward
While not as clear in vision as Post-War, M. Ward has written and performed a varied and enjoyable record. Ranging from electric to acoustic to orchestral, this record has a little bit for all KCSU listeners. My favorite moments on the album are tracks like “For Beginners” and “Jailbird” where the vocals have a warm, filtered sound and the acoustic guitar is the main support. I didn’t care too much for the any of the songs with a big electric guitar sound, but they help to break up the sound of the album. Lyrically, there isn’t much that sticks in my head but the line “Love is just a chorus, Death is just a verse” from “Blake’s View” is great.
Little Hells by Marissa Nadler
Comparisons to Joanna Newsome tend to scare off most listeners, so I’ll try to avoid them. Nadler has made the strongest album of her career with Little Hells. It’s also the most typical folk album on the list. Her voice is meant to be heard and it’s the strongest instrument on the album. Most of the songs are wonderfully slow and sparse, with a few exceptions. If you listen to one song, treat your ears to the chilling “Ghosts and Lovers”, quickly becoming a KCSU favorite.
Beware by Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy
What would the Prince of Folk song like with a full band and back up singers? Awesome. On my first listen, I wasn’t inspired by this album. It had nothing that was begging me to play it again like “You Remind Me of Something” did on Lie Down in the Light. This album takes multiple listens. If I could describe it in one word: subtle. The lyrics are subtle. The verses are subtle. The bridges are subtle. The choruses are subtle. There is a lovely twang to the album (especially on “You Can’t Hurt Me Now”) and lead singer Will Oldham’s voice sounds as broken down, vulnerable, and defiant as ever. The opening track “Beware Your Only Friend” has great backing vocals and I love the long chorus of “You are Lost”.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
I was drawn to this album because Jason Isbell is a former member of Drive-By Truckers, one of the few country bands I could get my friends to listen to. The self titled debut of the 400 unit is a perfect album for Fort Collins and I sincerely hope that it becomes popular. The songwriting is strong and the choruses can be easily sung along too. Hands down my favorite song and probably the best song on the album is “Soldiers Get Strange”. It’s has a great full southern rock sound and honest lyrics. The song is about the struggles a soldier has reintegrating into society after being at war. It’s hard to find songs praising soldiers outside of popular country. It’s even harder to find songs that don’t follow the Toby Keith “Rah Rah American soldiers kick ass”. I applaud Isbell for writing a song that is both pro-soldier and anti-war. Isbell doesn’t sugarcoat this song or anything on the album and I greatly appreciate that.
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