REVIEWS

CASS Mc COMBS

“Dropping the Writ”

CD, Domino, 2007 Tracklist: Lionkiller, pregnant pause, That’s That, petrified Forest, Morning shadows, Deseret, Crick in my neck, Full moon or infinity, Windfall, Wheel of fortune, healing

www.cassmccombs.com myspace.com/cassmccombs

I discovered McCombs by “accident”. My wife and I had travelled from Chicago to Bloomington, Indiana, to see Jose Gonzalez play at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre, an old historic building in the town centre. We had been getting into Gonzalez’ music for a while, but I had never heard about Cass McCombs - who was the opening act. And while I love Gonzalez’ new album “In Our Nature”, “Dropping the Writ” has hardly left my CD player since getting in the car the following morning heading back to Chicago. During the concert, McCombs pulled us into his musical wonderland. Many of his songs are repetetive, but he uses repetition as a means to an end - in his music, it becomes an artform and it never gets boring. The melodies are so beautiful and flowing, it’s like riding on waves into some strange sunset.

“Dropping the Writ” opens with “Lionkiller”, in my opinion, one of the strongest tracks on the album. It’s majestic beat stomps and grinds over McComb’s haunting vocals, lamenting, perhaps, a world where destiny has been abandonded to shallow idols, and class requirements dictate one’s life path. But what do I know?! The bass arrangements on this song is pure genius at work! Subtle, sparse but oh so powerful. You feel it in your gut. and it adds the perfect foundation for this multilayered masterpiece! The other tracks that really stand out to me are “Deseret”, “Crick in my Neck” - a beautiful song - one of those songs I could wish I wrote myself - the wonderful “Fullmoon or infinity” which lends a nod to The Master, Ennio Morricone, and “Windfall” with it’s surprising and breathtaking harmonies, and the spiritual Wheel of Fotrune. McCombs writes wonderful lyrics. They are beautiful to the eye and meaningful to the mind, though they are bound to mean different things to different people. Some of them seem to deal with spiritual issues, while others seem ripe with social commentary exploring themes of alienation and separation. Pure poetry!

The world is lost Even the birds are tired But I can fly with you As long as you can inspire -Windfall

A lot of people seem to be taken by McCombs voice. I can safely say that he is currently one of my favourite singers, perfectly unpolished and exceptionally clear and expressive. The voice completes the music. Because that is what “Dropping the Writ” is to me - a complete work. No detail is a stranger, every oddity fits perfectly into what has become one of my all time favourite albums. McCombs’ songwriting is very mature and it gives me a strong feeling of authenticity in a shallow musical landscape where bands struggle and stumble in their attempt to capture the magic of the old masters. Cass McCombs borrows from that collective magic hat of inspiration, but his magic is his own - It is simply quite timeless, quite perfect.