Californian Ted Nunes releases a well-crafted solo debut with intriguing lyrics.
Born and bred in the San Joaquin Valley, Ted Nunes grew up listening to The Grateful Dead and from there discovered singer-songwriters such as John Prine, Johnny Cash, and Bob Dylan. After releasing the 2014 E.P. ‘High Fences‘ with his band Richfield, Nunes has spent the intervening years crafting this fine solo debut. Written and recorded in his home state of California, San Joaquin is a strong collection of low to mid-tempo tunes, with the rockier title track halfway through providing a welcome lift in pace. The album is well produced, and the songs are listenable enough but the thing that raises the album to above average are the intriguing lyrics.
The opener, ‘Down That Road’, is a heartfelt mid-tempo number and introduces Nunes’ use of nature in his writing. The melancholic refrain “I was passed like a summer rain” poignantly describes the breakup of a relationship, and begins the album’s “chronological story about letting go and finding yourself again“. The natural imagery continues into the stripped-back ‘Shadows of the Past‘. Here, Nunes’ lyrical tendency towards the enigmatic may leave the first-time listener bemused. If gnomic phrases such as “My heads under sinks with concrete in my eye” turn you off, then the wonderfully atmospheric pedal steel from Jordan Rosen on this track should be more than enough to convince you to continue listening.
While the record opens with two break-up songs it ends with a quiet, wistful waltz-time number that highlights Nunes’ rich vocals. ‘Waiting and I Don’t Mind’ is an understated meditation on saying goodbye and moving on into the unknown. In between, Nunes gives us some mid-tempo ragtime (‘Brass Ring‘), a catchy southern rock pean to his home (‘San Joaquin‘), and cryptic references to crows (‘The Old Crow’ and the curiously titled ‘Coming Down from Murder‘). It is, however, not all abstract and obscure. The track ‘I Might be Drinking’, is a more straightforward affair, with lines such as “I try to count my blessing, but my fingers they blur” helping to lift it from the usual alone-in-a-bar-drinking song.
Overall, the album is a strong collection of songs with some interesting lyrical turns. The unusual imagery employed may not be to everyone’s taste, but it is refreshing and helps maintain interest across repeated plays. It’s a solid debut.
