Music Review: Son Volt
The Search, Son Volt, 4 Stars
Since Jay Farrar left Uncle Tupelo in 1994 and formed Son Volt, he has always been the primary force behind the band—the lead guitarist, the lead vocalist, and the main song-writer. This was no truer than in 2005 when Farrar and the other band members split acrimoniously and Farrar reformed a new version of Son Volt. With Farrar as the only original member, Son Volt roared back to life with Okemah and the Melody of Riot, showcasing Jay’s ringing guitar and booming voice. While the rest of the band backed him competently, the album still felt like a one-man show.
With The Search, the latest reincarnation of Son Volt has begun to find its voice. Musically, the band stretches out in new ways with horns, strings, and even an electric bouzouki. A couple of tracks, like “The Picture”, represent bold departures, but more often the experimentation results in a fuller sound—the basic Son Volt sound with a richer sonic backdrop. The title track, for instance, features the Son Volt standards--Farrar’s rust-belt tinged lead guitar and whiskey-and-cigarettes vocals backed by a driving rhythm--with organ filling out the arrangement and even dropping in a faux thunderclap effect at the climax of the song. None of this is to say that Son Volt can’t still bring the alt-country though; the duet “Highways and Cigarettes” swoons and sways with pedal steel and “Methamphetamine” may be one of the best country songs Farrar’s ever written.
Thematically, The Search continues the exploration of the ills of society and the plight of the working class that Farrar began in Uncle Tupelo. Farrar lists off the many sins of global warming, warmongering, and poverty in “The Picture” and laments western culture as “planned obsolescence, manufactured senseless” in “Automatic Society.” Where Okemah... was more strident, more a call to arms, however, The Search is more questioning and pensive. The lyrics fluctuate from oblique to plain; at times, Farrar can be willfully hard to decipher and at others so straight forward as to border on preachy. But it’s clear throughout that he believes he has something important to say; the lyrics work because he sings them so fervently. While Farrar admits that he doesn’t have all the answers, he still has hope and, as he sings in “The Search,” he will “believe it to the last, believe it now.”
This album builds on the strengths of Okemah and the Melody of Riot while continuing to develop the sound of the band. Son Volt's "comeback" is most certainly complete--The Search is a worthy addition to the pioneering alt-country work of Jay Farrar.
Key Tracks: The Search, Methamphetamine, The Picture, Beacon Soul
[Note: a deluxe edition of The Search is available through iTunes for $9.99. The deluxe edition adds 8 new songs (including the standout “Coltrane Free”) and an alternate track listing. Most of the new songs are good and the excellent “Coltrane Free” stands out. That said, while I applaud the effort make all 22 tracks flow together, the alternate track listing gives the album a bloated feel. My recommendation would be to get the deluxe edition, reorganize the tracks into the original 14-track album, and treat the new 8 songs as a second disc.]
Albums are rated on the following scale:
5 Stars = Classic
4 Stars = Excellent
3 Stars = Good
2 Stars = Fair
1 Star = Poor
Since Jay Farrar left Uncle Tupelo in 1994 and formed Son Volt, he has always been the primary force behind the band—the lead guitarist, the lead vocalist, and the main song-writer. This was no truer than in 2005 when Farrar and the other band members split acrimoniously and Farrar reformed a new version of Son Volt. With Farrar as the only original member, Son Volt roared back to life with Okemah and the Melody of Riot, showcasing Jay’s ringing guitar and booming voice. While the rest of the band backed him competently, the album still felt like a one-man show.
With The Search, the latest reincarnation of Son Volt has begun to find its voice. Musically, the band stretches out in new ways with horns, strings, and even an electric bouzouki. A couple of tracks, like “The Picture”, represent bold departures, but more often the experimentation results in a fuller sound—the basic Son Volt sound with a richer sonic backdrop. The title track, for instance, features the Son Volt standards--Farrar’s rust-belt tinged lead guitar and whiskey-and-cigarettes vocals backed by a driving rhythm--with organ filling out the arrangement and even dropping in a faux thunderclap effect at the climax of the song. None of this is to say that Son Volt can’t still bring the alt-country though; the duet “Highways and Cigarettes” swoons and sways with pedal steel and “Methamphetamine” may be one of the best country songs Farrar’s ever written.
Thematically, The Search continues the exploration of the ills of society and the plight of the working class that Farrar began in Uncle Tupelo. Farrar lists off the many sins of global warming, warmongering, and poverty in “The Picture” and laments western culture as “planned obsolescence, manufactured senseless” in “Automatic Society.” Where Okemah... was more strident, more a call to arms, however, The Search is more questioning and pensive. The lyrics fluctuate from oblique to plain; at times, Farrar can be willfully hard to decipher and at others so straight forward as to border on preachy. But it’s clear throughout that he believes he has something important to say; the lyrics work because he sings them so fervently. While Farrar admits that he doesn’t have all the answers, he still has hope and, as he sings in “The Search,” he will “believe it to the last, believe it now.”
This album builds on the strengths of Okemah and the Melody of Riot while continuing to develop the sound of the band. Son Volt's "comeback" is most certainly complete--The Search is a worthy addition to the pioneering alt-country work of Jay Farrar.
Key Tracks: The Search, Methamphetamine, The Picture, Beacon Soul
[Note: a deluxe edition of The Search is available through iTunes for $9.99. The deluxe edition adds 8 new songs (including the standout “Coltrane Free”) and an alternate track listing. Most of the new songs are good and the excellent “Coltrane Free” stands out. That said, while I applaud the effort make all 22 tracks flow together, the alternate track listing gives the album a bloated feel. My recommendation would be to get the deluxe edition, reorganize the tracks into the original 14-track album, and treat the new 8 songs as a second disc.]
Albums are rated on the following scale:
5 Stars = Classic
4 Stars = Excellent
3 Stars = Good
2 Stars = Fair
1 Star = Poor
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