Thursday, July 13, 2017

Loose Fur - Born Again In The USA

The second album from Jeff Tweedy and Jim O'Rourke's Loose Fur side-project was released in 2006.  If anything, it's less cohesive than the debut.  Instead of going for a purely immersive effect, they've decided that rocking out might be worth a try.  Hey Chicken swaggers in on Stones-y rock riffs, and rocks out for a solid three minutes before checking out.  The Ruling Class follows, all country strumming and good-natured whistling.  Stupid as the Sun is a kind of boppy rock song, sung by O'Rourke, it's not unpleasant but a bit forgettable.  The clattering Apostolic and Pretty Sparks are less pleasant, you could live without them.  Thou Shalt Wilt and Wanted are easy enough to listen to, if a little anonymous.

For those who enjoyed the first Loose Fur album they are best directed to the more introspective tracks here.  Answers To Your Questions sounds more like a Jim O'Rourke track than anything else here.  A gentle ballad sung by O'Rourke, it's a quiet beauty with a fine touch of steel guitar.  The instrumental An Ecumenical Matter, has gorgeous summery guitar licks and nice bit of piano.  At eight and a half minutes, Wreckroom is the longest track here, and its ebb and flow would not have been out of place on Wilco's A Ghost Is Born album, with fine guitar work ranging from lazy licks to full-on pounding riffs.  The last four minutes of the track or mainly a muted, piano coda with a hint of percussion.

So a fairly mixed, and mixed-up album, one that doesn't hang together particularly well but has its moments.

No comments:

Post a Comment