Chimpomatic

Ben Weaver

The Ax In The Oak

Bloodshot

Modest Mouse and Iron & Wine producer Brian Deck joins Ben Weaver once again on his sixth studio album and the result is a more experimental sound that lifts this record from the sometimes slow grind of his previous efforts. The partnership here between these two artists is more of a collaboration as Deck does way more than produce this piece of work. The Ax In The Oak sounds more like a question and answer exercise as one artist uses what the other has given as a launching pad for multiple departures.

All the regular trappings are here, with Weaver's gruff delivery dominating every second, his lyrics as bare and exposed as ever but the addition of beautifully subtle electronic texture seems to go some way to providing much needed warmth and support to these exposed vocals. But ultimately it's the vocals that makes Ben Weaver so unique. Like Silver Jews' David Berman, Weaver has an ability to see the world in all its day-to-day minutia and uses this attention to detail to describe the larger concepts we all struggle to understand. Opening song White Snow declares "You get one wish for each dot on a junebug's wing / And there's only one dot on the one I'm holding...I'm not going to waste it on you." Likewise, Anything With Words states "The truth is no rounder than a tired horse's eyes."

The themes in Weaver's songs are as earthy as his voice. Nature features strongly with foxes, hawks, alligators and crows all drifting by the desolate Weaver landscape. This is very real music as every hum-drum experience contributes to Weavers creative tapestry. But reality isn't always pretty and Weaver doesn't shy away from this. His tales of monotony, loneliness and dead birds can sometimes sound awkward but it's in this awkwardness that the captivation lies.

Such wisdom appears quite startling from someone in his late twenties and the manner by which this wisdom is administered is also staggeringly mature. For an artist like this to be so often compared to Tom Waits the mind boggles at what he'll be sounding like in 20 years time. But great music will often disguise both its origins and the direction it intends to go and throughout all six of this guys records both these elements remain unclear. The standout track here is Hey Ray and if this is any kind of hint at the road that lies ahead for Weaver's music then it is more than encouraging. The lonely strums of the acoustic guitar are so shrouded in loneliness that when they are eventually enveloped by Deck's warm bass and delicate beat it's hard not to feel a shiver. At over six minutes long Hey Ray is the most subtly ambitious song to date. It shows Weaver's ability to sing about desolation so convincingly and yet shroud his words with such intimacy. He's left "the ax in the oak and the pot on the stove" but assures us he'll "be back in a while." Mr. Weaver, we await your return with baited breath.

#Music
#BC

10th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet