Three cheers for indie dudes who won’t quit
Bright Eyes – Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was (Dead Oceans)
More than a decade removed from the indie boom that turned underfed art-school jerks into millionaires, I’m glad Conor Oberst pulled himself through the shit to come out the other side with melodic gifts intact. Since last he released a Bright Eyes record, he endured (in order) a false sexual assault allegation, the death of his brother and a divorce. If he sounds down in the mouth, he’s got the right. But know nature is partly to blame. That Nebraska drawl of his is as flat as a wheat field and unathletic as a Husker offensive lineman. But it also possesses a quivering, quasi-romantic sensibility — makes him sound like the sad puppy his target market takes him for. Yet, six rotations in, I hear a man with reasons aplenty to wallow instead fight against everyday anguish and despair. What starts with “Gotta keep on going like it ain’t the end,” becomes “There’s no way to turn back the clock / It’s going to run until it stops” becomes “Life sounds so sweet and then it’s gone so suddenly” which turns into “I’m not afraid of the future.” Darkness remains a constant presence, however. Death and a higher power are referenced often, and the panic attack of “Hot Car in the Sun” comes just after his mother’s health scare and just before the existential dread of staring down eternity. All this is to say he’s neither a blind optimist nor a depressive. He’s just a slightly fucked up schlub fighting like hell to stay afloat. GRADE: A-
The Mountain Goats – Getting Into Knives (Merge)
While I suspect fans as obsessive compulsive as front man John Darnielle will be disheartened that these songs aren’t connected by a larger concept, I’m glad he ditched such conceits. Where Beat the Champ was a clever tribute to the working class masked as a paean to professional wrestling, Goths and In League with Dragons were too literal and too literary for anyone other than obsessive compulsives to appreciate. It’s apparent Darnielle feels freed from the weight of carrying a larger narrative. His songwriting hasn’t been this demotic in years, and his braying vocals sound equally relaxed and knowable. That’s not to say he’s completely ditched his tendency to conceptualize. These songs are still character studies centered on those fighting forces they can’t control. What connects them is a through line centered on finding satisfaction in small doses. Though the runaway divorcee who travels the country in her wedding dress has little in common with the literal goldfish who exist at the mercy of the current, both understand “not every wave is a tidal wave,” and find what measure of happiness is afforded them. Ditto wolves who fight and survive as one and the escaped fugitive content to live off the grid. But notice no happy ending is found on the satirical “Get Famous,” which says all you need to know regarding Darnielle’s thoughts on his chosen profession. Also notice that the hooks start to fade after the midway point — an appropriate resolution for an album about small pleasures, I suppose. GRADE: A-
Sound 'Round 