Nashville singer-songwriter weaves a magic spell on second album.
Sometimes, knowing the details behind music one listens to doesn’t necessarily help the appreciation of the music. This is one of those rare occasions. Ophiuchus is a constellation in the northern hemisphere, the “serpent bearer” or Serpentarius, first described by Ptolemy in his geocentric semi-nonsense Almagest. It’s the 13th zodiac constellation orphaned by the limited availability of calendar months.
There you go – fascinating to know if you’re into astrology and that kind of stuff – but for this listener, this knowledge didn’t help my listening pleasure of this winning and very different album. Wolfe has explained, “I’m trying to cast a complex magic spell, the purpose of which is not fully known to me”.
Wolfe’s music covers a wide variety of americana-influenced genres, country, soul and gospel, blues, rock, amongst others, and his dark and brooding deep voice adds to a very distinctive and idiosyncratic sound. He’s released a selection of well-received EPs following his debut, and here we have a 13-strong second release.
We open on the mystical rocker that is the title track, a bold choice to start the album with Wolfe’s Waits like vocals to the fore. A somewhat acquired taste to these ears. ‘I Deserve To Be Forgotten’ is a laid-back country song with witty lyrics exposing the singer’s incident-filled but screwed up life, suggesting even the most flawed individuals need forgiveness. This wonderfully mixes Wolfe’s distinctive husky vocals with some superb playing. He’s backed by Chad Stuible on vocals and piano; Seth Fox on vocals; Lucca Soria on vocals; Brian Wright on guitar; Daniel Seymour on bass; Smith Curry on pedal steel; and Madison George on drums.
‘Rules Of War’ is another quirky number, and the lyrics reveal some fascinating life rules, with a lovely musical background of piano, trumpet, and percussion – it has a dreamy and witty feel. Already, we’ve heard four very different sounds on an album that’s impressing more and more as we continue. The melancholic ‘Dream Song’ is next with lovely piano and guitar playing and a strong drumbeat throughout. ‘Crooked Roads’ is a slow, dream-like accordion/piano ode to love. Again, Wolfe’s growling vocals and the beautiful playing mix together so well. ‘Ascetic Sleep Song No 4’ is an epic-sounding triumph with weird, off-kilter lyrics, but a magnificent feel and a lovely tune. The blues groove of ‘Last King Of The Blues’ is superb with a Captain Beefheart feel.
This is quite an achievement for a second release, bold, evocative and unusual songs with a mysterious and out-there feel. Yet the combination of some very effective vocals, brilliant musicianship and lyrics that make you think and behold work so well together. Possibly not to everyone’s tastes, but if you fancy something different and varietal, this is for you.
