Son Volt's The Search
By Brian Williams: 2007-03-17 20:57:58
Pure Soul Bluegrass Style
Fiddles and Banjos, Sweet Melodies and "Fire on the Mountain"
Country music is one of those genres that doesn’t take too kindly to strangers. Anything that has a remote smattering of something straying from the cut-and-dried norm is ostracized--former favorite son Garth Brooks’ ill-fated Chris Gaines experiment comes to mind--forcing artists to stick, perhaps willingly for the sake of stardom, to the formula. It’s a sort of musical xenophobia that shuns any extra creativity of a different voice.
But then there’s the flip side of that coin, a place where cats don’t pay much mind to traditions but focus instead on letting it all out as they thumb their collective noses at the institution. Count Son Volt frontman/head honcho Jay Farrar among that group, as the freshly minted The Search, album No. 5 from his alt-country rock band (and his second with the new lineup), hits the shelves determined to carve a niche in the pop consciousness.
The Search could best be summed up as a collection of “-ishes,” as in “this track sounds very (insert name here)-ish.” Case in point: “The Picture” definitely conjures up chords of any major Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers track, as it’s very much Tom Petty-ish. Or maybe R.E.M. is more your cup o’ tea, so then it’s the moody “Circadian Rhythm,” “Underground Dream” and “Automatic Society” that’ll grab your attention. Keep in mind the tunes don’t come across as some TNN contemporary doing an album of countrified covers; the songs all have that singer/songwriter vibe that sparkle with an obvious nod to varied influences.
Continuing on the “-ish” odyssey, the opener “The Hearse” reminds listeners of Coldplay at its finest, while the title track sounds like a B-side from the Traveling Wilburys. The rockier push of “Satellite,” surely a live fave, brings to mind what would happen if Fastball covered anything from the Wallflowers’ first album.
While all 14 tracks play in the same vein, “Methamphetamine” (the best overall and so good I wish I’d written it) is the only one tied to country music origins, not just in its reflective delivery but in its “oh woe is me” lyrical content (very old school Hank Sr. in style).
It would be far too easy to initially lump Son Volt into the “bar band makes it big” category but, on the second listen through, you get the feeling that something less superficial is going on here. Truthfully, I’d never heard of Son Volt prior to getting the job of writing about The Search--apparently the band's last album was a little more guitar driven and of a different flavor altogether. Those of you not in-the-know are in for a pleasant treat, as the melodies do an artful job of conveying Farrar’s emotional navigation through this thing called daily existence.
Whether or not you share his melancholy attitudes is purely subjective (either your life’s always been peachy or it hasn’t kicked you in the teeth enough) but still, you’re bound to find something of substance in The Search. If you’re a meat and potatoes alt-rock fan, or an open-minded country fan looking for some inspiration, then Search no more (ehhh, I know … ), Son Volt has a pleasurable romp in store for you.
http://www.cinemablend.com/music/CD-Review-Son-Volt-s-The-Search-3338.html