ARTiST: David Lowery
ALBUM: The Palace Guards
BiTRATE: 196kbps avg
QUALiTY: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.97 Final / -V2 --vbr-new / 44.100Khz
LABEL: 429 Records
GENRE: Rock
SiZE: 58.43 megs
PLAYTiME: 0h 39min 20sec total
RiP DATE: 2011-02-26
STORE DATE: 2011-02-01
Track List:
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01. Raise 'em On Up Honey 4:27
02. The Palace Guards 3:40
03. Deep Oblivion 5:35
04. Ah, You Left Me 3:47
05. Baby, All Those Girls Meant 4:07
Nothing To Me
06. I Sold The Arabs The Moon 4:03
07. Marigold 5:29
08. Big Life 4:25
09. Submarine 3:47
Release Notes:
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Unless youÆve been otherwise out of tune with the comings and goings of
alternative rock during the past 25 years or so, David Lowery really needs no
introduction. The 50-year-old Lowery is the mastermind between two of AmericaÆs
better known alt-rock bands of the past quarter century. He is a co-founder of
the quirky æ80s group Camper Van Beethoven, mostly remembered for ôTake the
Skinheads Bowlingö and its cover of Status QuoÆs ôPictures of Matchstick Menö.
Lowery also went on to form Cracker, a more traditionally roots-rocking, more
mainstream 1990s outfit, which had a minor MTV hit in ôTeen Angst (What the
World Needs Now)ö, and thatÆs not to speak of ôLowö, a song that seemed to be
nearly ubiquitous during my first year of journalism school. (An editor for the
student newspaper I did a bit of work for was a bit of a Cracker fan û some may
say fanatic û and I recall him plugging quarters into a barÆs jukebox to hear
that song on repeat while attending the paperÆs Christmas party at some
long-gone Ottawa, Canada, dive. WhatÆs more, IÆm pretty sure I heard ôLowö on
the radio an awful lot during a dismal stint working in a lumber mill in between
my first and second year of university û that is, whenever the dial was tuned to
a rock station and not one of but two dreaded New Country notches on the dial.)
It has obviously taken a really long time, but Lowery has finally come out with
what would appear to be a solo album in the form of The Palace Guards, so named
according to LoweryÆs liner notes because, of all of the nine songs to be found
here, he likes the track with the same name the best. I say ôwhat would appear
to be a solo recordö in that last sentence because the press notes accompanying
this CD say that Lowery is stopping short of calling it a genuine lone outing.
In a way, it might be true that The Palace Guards isnÆt really the start of a
career outside of a band context for Lowery because CrackerÆs Sal Maida and
Johnny Hickman make guest appearances. On the other hand, the record is said to
have been several years in the making, as Lowery had gradually amassed a
collection of songs that didnÆt really work in the context of either Cracker or
the in-recent-years reformed Camper, not to mention the fact that Lowery felt
these tunes were unwieldy to play in a live setting. Lowery might not like it,
but wouldnÆt that qualify as criteria for a solo album? Anyhow, so as to not
offend the talented singer-songwriter, perhaps ôside-project dallianceö might be
a more apropos way of categorizing The Palace Guards. In the end, whatever
floats LoweryÆs boat is fine by me because, ôsolo albumö or not, this long
player, while being a little short on his traditional roots rockinÆ rave-ups,
once again showcases his deadpan wry wit and country rock-tinged songwriting.
Fans, both old and new, will have a fair amount to lap up.
The big (and unfortunately unintentional) draw of this record û just to get this
out of the way fairly early û is that the spectre of the late Mark Linkous of
Sparklehorse looms large. Linkous contributed a keyboard part to ôBig Lifeö,
which might just be one of the last things, if not the last thing, he committed
to tape that will ever be released publically û unless the fifth proper
Sparklehorse record (not counting the Danger Mouse collaboration Dark Night of
the Soul) that Linkous was recording at the time of his death ever sees the
light of day. Unsurprisingly, The Palace Guards is dedicated in part to the
memory of Linkous, a dedication that goes beyond the role he had playing keys on
one song. Lowery and Linkous actually have quite a bit of history together as
the former did some production duties on SparklehorseÆs 1995 debut,
Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot under the pseudonym David Charles, and the
pair wrote ôSick of Goodbyesö, which appeared in slightly different
interpretations on both CrackerÆs Kerosene Hat and SparklehorseÆs Good Morning
Spider. Some of LinkousÆ quirks have rubbed off on Lowery, whether it was
deliberate or not, as both The Palace GuardsÆ ôBig Lifeö and ôDeep Oblivionö
actually have the cadence of classic Sparklehorse songs.
ôDeep Oblivionö is a slow, meditative track with what could be a droopy
mellotron as well as a sad steel guitar, and you can literally imagine Linkous
singing this song in his trademark cracked, fragile voice. ThatÆs actually a
heartbreaking thought, that Linkous isnÆt going to be around to cover this song,
because you can only imagine the possibilities of what he could have done with
this. In fact, all this song needs is some radio static and studio trickery
added to it and it could very well be something Linkous cooked up in a dark,
moody dream. As it stands, though, the song does feel like an outtake from the
2001 Sparklehorse disc ItÆs a Wonderful Life. Likewise, ôBig Lifeö is a big,
brassy country-rock song with a pinch of a brooding quality in its verses, that,
too, wouldnÆt be out of place in the Sparklehorse canon. You can get the sense,
in an oddly prescient move, that Lowery is even singing about Linkous in the
song: ôAnd I was thinking about my favourite underground music icon / he sang
his whispered songs with broken wings and such.ö It seems that this subject then
falls on hard times, but, of course, in LoweryÆs version, ôIt came out alright,
because itÆs a big life.ö If this is indeed a deliberate nod to Linkous, we all
know that things didnÆt work out in the end. Still, it seems to be a nice
backhanded reference, and, again, it just breaks your heart to realize that the
pair will never have an opportunity to work together ever beyond this
contribution.
With all of this talk of death and endings over, letÆs turn our focus to the
beginning of The Palace Guards. In all actuality, the first two tracks are a bit
of a weak point in terms of the construction of the record, as though Lowery
wanted to play his lesser cards up front. ôRaise æEm Up on Honeyö, the albumÆs
opening salvo, is a bluesy, harmonica-and-banjo-driven song that recalls the
work of Neil Young with a dash of Appalachia. ItÆs, well, pleasant, but it
really has nowhere to go except gradually fade out on a harmonica solo. The
recordÆs title track follows next, and itÆs a disaffecting song. ItÆs hard to
see why this is LoweryÆs favourite cut on the record, as it starts out with
vocals and a strummed acoustic guitar, but then it suddenly and literally
deflates, like all of the air has come out of the song, by slowing down its
tempo to a crawl before picking up (and wheezing to a near-stop) all over again.
I have to admit that ôThe Palace Guardsö gets a bit better on repeat, when you
get used to the idiosyncrasies of the songÆs structure, and it does have a
churning second half that gradually works itself up from where it originally
languished. It also boasts some witty lyrics, making it less an outright
throwaway and more of a merely sonically inconsequential selection. Happily, the
songs only improve from there, with the aforementioned ôDeep Oblivionö following
suit, beginning a stretch of tracks that are mostly low-key and generally softer
than the bands with which Lowery is associated. True, the fifth song, ôBaby, All
Those Girls Meant Nothing to Meö, does start out as a bit of a scorcher, but
even it settles into a relaxed pace as it progresses, never really reaching the
rock sound that opens it until the choruses, which is befitting to the spirit of
the middle-aged songwriter that penned it.
Long-time fans will be heartened to know that Lowery remains as hilarious as
ever and turns in the occasionally profoundly affecting line. In ôThe Palace
Guardsö, Lowery offers ôI work my fingers to the bone / To bring the bacon, to
bring the bacon home / I work my fingers to the bone / To keep the little
piggies safe in the minstrel home.ö ThatÆs a neat twist to take the clichΘd
phrase about earning oneÆs keep and aligning it to something out of a fairy
tale. On ôDeep Oblivionö, Lowery observes with dry humour that ôOblivion rhymes
with Vivianö. Then, ôCelebrate the virgin and the patron of this Churchö on
ôMarigoldö could be taken as a double-entendre. And on ôI Sold the Arabs the
Moonö, we get a lovely image: ôI was the man who sold the Arabs the Moon / [and]
they festooned their flags with crescent moonsö. ThatÆs not to speak of the
following trippy throw-off in ôDeep Oblivionö (which I tend to keep coming back
to, which only serves to show how much of a highlight it is): ôThe electric eels
are fun but tend to bite.ö
There are recurring motifs to the album as well, which keeps things interesting.
ThereÆs a reference to submarines in ôDeep Oblivionö, and by the end of the
record, we get a song actually called ôSubmarineö. There are also nods to the
British pastoral in various tracks: ôI was the man who sold the English the sea
/ They wanted the afternoon breezes at four / The sweet smell of spices from
over the seas / The afternoon showers it brought during teaö and ôWe were
crossing English channels in Victorian times / In midget submarines with
parasols and twine.ö WhatÆs more, The Palace Guards is actually, at times, a
record about the fear of losing your girlfriend or wife, which is a bit odd
considering Lowery finally got married in 2010. The subject of ôThe Palace
Guardsö warns his lover, for whom he proclaims to ôrip[s] [his] heart out every
day,ö that if she leaves, heÆll break all of her stuff û though he coyly adds
ôIÆm only joking, itÆs just my sense of humour, yÆallö. Two songs later, thereÆs
the particularly Tom Petty-sounding ôAh, You Left Meö, which our narrative begs
ôWhy did you leave?ö to the partner that has vanished. And, of course, LoweryÆs
protagonist pleads a track later that ôBaby, All Those Girls Meant Nothing to
Meö and wants to be taken back. In a way, parts of The Palace Guards play like a
storybook that folds in on itself, one that actually gets more enjoyable when
you pay close attention to it, flipping forwards and backwards through the
tracks to reveal similarities in images and allusions.
To be frank, The Palace Guards is not going to make you forget Telephone Free
Landslide Victory or even Kerosene Hat. However, it is a fairly strong and
consistent series of songs that, at times, reaches for the best of LoweryÆs
work. What it lacks is a feeling of musical consistency, though you get a sense
that the lyrics (which, actually, donÆt often rhyme in typical rock fashion)
have been polished quite a bit. The Palace Guards almost - almost - would work
even better if the CD wasnÆt even included, and all that Lowery provided was a
sheet of poetry. That statement, however, would be doing a disservice to the
brilliance of the some of the numbers produced here. There are some quality
songs, including (surprise, surprise) ôDeep Oblivionö, ôI Sold the Arabs the
Moonö (which, at one point, Lowery sings with such intensity as though someone
has just stuck a knife in his gut), ôMarigoldö, and ôBig Lifeö. All in all, if
The Palace Guards winds up being the unintentional start of a solo careerùhey,
IÆm not gonna complain. ItÆs a generally solid and dependable disc û not a mere
cap on 25 years of music making. More than two decades into his career, David
Lowery has, more or less, just proven his relevancy, which, to crib from an
earlier song of his, could just very well be what the world needs now.