Wistful, vivid country-folk and Americana by the Los Angeles band fronted by Ben Schneider in this strong fifth LP, coloured by images of huge skies and stars, California deserts, love, loss, with catchy tunes, tender anguish, haunting melodies and memories. A search for identity floods thematically through the album, and among the standouts is the evoked driving across the landscape with the urgent pumping rhythm of Who Laughs Last, with images of white noise, storms, possible UFOs, and staticky spoken-word narration from Hollywood actress Kristen Stewart. Bag of Bones is a slower with rhythm, but has a powerful bittersweet melancholy and and expressive reverb-heavy guitar, with lines such as “you’re doing fine without me … you were the only one I trusted but you left town and I got busted,” flushed with images of big open skies and solitude. Another heartbreaker is Nothing I Need is a jangly, pacy, fireside acoustic brush-rhythm pedal steel: “I got everything I want but nothing that I need,” tinged with regret –“I threw away her love on the goddamn road / But I see her face everywhere I go.” Other highlights include the richly textured guitars and dark sense of escape and solitude on opener Looking Back (“looking back and wondering who I am - something tells me we will never meet again”) the slow, simmering Fire Eternal (with Kazu Makino) and crooning closer Life Is Strange. A finely matured, beautifully evocative and melancholy release by Schneider and the band - Tom Renaud, Mark Barry and Miguel Briseño. Out on Mercury Records.
New to comment? It is quick and easy. You just need to login to Disqus once. All is explained in About/FAQs ...
Feel free to recommend more new songs and albums and comment below. You can also use the contact page, or find more on social media: Song Bar X, Song Bar Facebook. Song Bar YouTube, and Song Bar Instagram. Please subscribe, follow and share.
Song Bar is non-profit and is simply about sharing great music. We don’t do clickbait or advertisements. Please make any donation to help keep the Bar running: