Jay Farrar
Sebastopol
»
Jay Farrar
Sebastopol
Artemis, 2001
RiYL: Son Volt, Whiskeytown, Gram Parsons |
Farrar, known for being as lyrically cryptic as a secret agent, makes some bizarre observations that unwittingly ring familiar for Americans,post-Sept. 11.
In fact, in the first song on the album, the breezy "Feel Free," Farrar sings about the end of the world, while at the same time revealing -- as cryptically as possible -- his apparent deep-seated religious beliefs.
"World is gonna burn up 4 billion years from now / if it doesn't happen anytime soon / Cruel and unusual all around / window of opportunity uplifts the spirits down / cropping up and digging in / final plateau no longer seems like a burden," Farrar intones with his trademark gravel baritone.
He takes it one step further in the stark "Barstow," complete with harmony vocals from Nashville mainstay Gillian Welch: "There's a changing pattern before us / and the past tells the story quite well / by the time we make it to Barstow / we'll be more than half way to Hell"
So now maybe it makes sense: Jay Farrar = JF = Jesus Freak? Possible, and while not even the CIA officials could decipher what Farrar is really saying in his songs, much of Sebastopol marks some of his clearest writing since Son Volt's debut album, 1995's brilliant Trace.
Trace made umpteen top-ten lists that year, but Farrar was not able to maintain the momentum over the next two Son Volt albums. While the follow-up to Trace, 1997's Straightaways, was essentially a sequel, Wide Swing Tremelo was a complete dud. Released in 1998, after Wilco's revolutionary Being There and Whiskeytown's genre-breaking Strangers Almanac, Wide Swing Tremelo seemed to be Farrar's answer to the changing of the guard of so-called alt.country songwriters. Farrar was long consideredthe anchor behind Uncle Tupelo, the Belleview, Illinois-based band responsible for the new No Depression movement. But he broke up the band he fronted with Jeff Tweedy without notice in 1994, and moved to Son Volt, whose song "Drown" seemed to explain his decision:
"When in doubt / move on / no need to sort it out," he sang.
Move on he did, but with each subsequent Son Volt album, he didn't really seem to be going anywhere. Perhaps that's why he sings on "Voodoo Candle," the most Son Volt-esque song on his first solo album, "don't wanna be, don't wanna be fenced in."
On Sebastopol, Farrar, while somehow not really changing anything about his songwriting (he still uses more alternate tunings than anyone on Earth -- Ed. note: even Lee Ranaldo?), has put together his strongest collection of songs since Trace.
The album starts strong, with the aforementioned "Feel Free," which segues into the dramatic "Clear Day Thunder." And in "Barstow," Gillian Welch somehow becomes about the only female who could possibly sing in a lower tone than Farrar.
Sebastopol is perhaps Farrar's most produced record, meaning it's pretty damn slick. Yet it retains the sparseness and minimalist feeling that made Trace such a special album, showing he clearly learned from Wide Swing Tremelo's biggest fault: overproduction. On this album, quiet, reflective songs like "Damaged Son," "Make It Alright" and "Drain" are left to the bare minimum, while "Different Eyes" and "Clear Day Thunder" are more complete and dramatic.
The album does drag at points, though certainly not helped by the three "instrumentals," which are merely Farrar plodding about the studio, strumming his guitar with different wah effects. And he gets too predictable with the droning "Voodoo Candle" and failed blues rave-up "Damn Shame."
But Farrar hits two out of the park with "Outside the Door" and "Vitamins," two almost perfect songs. "Outside the Door" picks up musically from where Trace's "Too Early" left off: a simple acoustic story. While "Too Early" told the tale of an aging folk singer, "Outside the Door" continues Farrar's weird obsession with the end of the world: "Heard about circumstances / heard about the devil's son-in-law / heard about the high sheriff from Hell / Can you hear the drum outside the door? / Can you hear the drum outside the door?," he sings, as if he senses the four horsemen of the Apocalypse making their way across the globe.
"Vitamins," aside from the horrible name, contains some of Farrar's most biting lyrics to date: "The rules haven't changed / it just the same garbage before / we're sitting in / you're really not mad at anyone / you're just mad at the world," Farrar growls, as if he might be assessing his own mistakes as asongwriter.
In the end, Sebastopol marks a major step for Farrar. Although it's hard to tell whether the album would've been all that different if it were a Son Volt record, it is a solid reminder that Farrar still has some tricks up his sleeve.
RODEO ROB | An expert on all things "alt," Rob spends his days covering the energy industry and his nights covering the DC-area bars. Raise yer glass especially high to this man, for he has contributed to this site constantly since its creation four years ago.