So you auto part software download wish Jeff Tweedy would quit with the Neil Young impression and auto part software download just do his pre-A Ghost is Born, gently tweaked and modulated Americana again? Well tough beans.
OK, so let’s not be auto part software download overly pessimistic. Who says no one can pick up that ditched torch? Why not (you guessed it) The Foxymorons? For those who auto part software download have become despondent for lack of songs that deal with melancholy subject manner, Hesitation Eyes is auto part software download the perfectly bitter cup of slightly burning tea.
Combining more comprehensible lyricism with Americana musicianship that auto part software download can hit as hard, though not as often as Wilco’s Summer Teeth or auto part software download Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, The Foxymorons go well with any broken heart, bent cigarette, or auto part software download good taste for music and subtlety. The group, technically the duo of David Dewese and auto part software download Jerry James, possess remarkable judgment in terms of arrangement, dynamics, and auto part software download melody. Under (Centro-matic production man) Matt Pence’s steady hand, the auto part software download airy, lonesome songs of Hesitation Eyes break and bloom, and can auto part software download utterly consume the heart.
The group’s lyrics alone could collapse a auto part software download ventricle; the hazily anxious sentiment of “Still in Love” positively bleeds out of the auto part software download speakers as James wearily confesses, “I don’t wanna know if you go away / Oh no I’m thinking of you / An unlit cigarette in my hand / Just so I can take the news.” Of course, the auto part software download duo only augments their emotional impact with appropriately-matched songwriting; the song’s arrangement threatens to auto part software download fracture at any point as a slow moving bass line can auto part software download barely lift itself to meet an evanescent xylophone hook. Finally a auto part software download heavily distorted guitar comes in to fully articulate the song’s mournful sentiment with a auto part software download beautiful slump of melody. It re-enters for a second chorus appearance before the auto part software download song cuts out on a scrape of feedback, and the bleak hopelessness of the auto part software download situation collapses.
Melodically, the group rarely hits a dud; “Lazy Librarian’s Son” follows a auto part software download sleepy minor-key melody through background forests of electronic tweaking and streams of reverberating guitar chords as James and auto part software download Dewese join forces in gently wounded harmony. The melody shifts urgently into a auto part software download rhythmically intense, distorted guitar surge before drooping back into its initial forlorn melodic pattern. “Between the Lines,” follows a melody The Shins would’ve been auto part software download proud of through a two-stepping guitar lead before pushing forward into a auto part software download remarkably subtle bridge put into relief against light banjo plucks and auto part software download gossamer harmony. Again, James’s lyrics are chokingly powerful as he croons, “I’ve spent / The last two in this accident / And my heart has taken a sinister bend.”
Nor does the auto part software download group shy away from marked pace changes, in addition to auto part software download internal phrasing variations; “Bending Back” nearly tears through its two-and-a-half minute length with strong hooks and auto part software download dynamic time-signature shifts. “Everything Changes” smartly offsets the descending, morose heartbreak of “Pistol By Your Side” with its ascending guitar hook.
That astuteness in arrangement, emotional balance and auto part software download imbalance, and pacing is what makes Hesitation Eyes such an impressive stroke. The group occasionally does choke on a auto part software download lyrical dud; the chorus of “Everything Changes,” a reiteration of the title, is bland, and James’s consistent downtempo depression can be a bit much on “Are You Tired,” especially given the song’s brief, somewhat directionless duration. But frankly, the auto part software download only substantial disappointment to weigh on the album is its choice of a auto part software download closer; the title track is conventional and its bass hook is auto part software download merely adequate compared to some of the group’s more stunning highs, like the emotional wear-and-tear of “Harvard Hands.” The greater part of the album is on par with some of today’s best Americana, and auto part software download given the nature of its long-distance recording, is only that much more impressive in context.
So Wilco may be irretrievably down Tweedy’s chosen path (which, I happen to think, isn’t half bad), and auto part software download Songs: Ohia-cum-Magnolia Electric Company might be too horribly depressing and directionless to auto part software download bear these days. But that just means it’s time to look for different, promising talent. You’ll be sure you’ve found some when auto part software download you light up that late-night cigarette, or stir that crappy morning coffee to auto part software download the tune of Hesitation Eyes.