I must admit that country music isn't generally my cup of tea, but somehow Kasey Chambers is an exception, perhaps due to the folk influence? Then again, folk music isn't my thing usually, so there goes that rationale!
Let's start slightly in Ramones' spirit (ok, perhaps that's drawing a long bow!) with Last Hard Bible and We're All Gonna Die Someday. These upbeat tongue-in-cheek bluegrass hoedowns (??) are great fun, reminding me a bit of the Violent Femmes in its whimsical attitude. For example:
They can all kiss my arse, Lord.They can all kiss my arse.
If they wanna kiss my arse,
They'd better do it fast,
Cos we're all gonna die someday
Last Hard Bible gives the fantastic impression of a barn party where Grandad has drunk too much moonshine and jumped up on stage with a banjo! The slightly discordant vocals are perfectly executed, which becomes obvious in the vocal-only outro.
At the other end of the spectrum, These Pines is a wonderfully lonesome acoustic guitar song. The vocals are perhaps on the verge of sounding whiney, but I think it is the perfect balance. And the lyrics themselves paint a rich emotional picture. The Captain is a bit less sparse, and uses a simple yet catchy guitar motif to tie the song together. Again, the lyrics are a highlight, with the gentle style used perfectly complementing the beautifully humble poetry of the story. It is deservedly the title track, and one of my all-time favourite songs. This Flower goes a bit too far with the flowers-in-the-hair hippy style, almost sounding like Christian folk. Personally I find the male backing vocals annoyingly lacking in any strength.
Returning to the "whiney" comment for a moment, I appreciate the vocals are polarising. There is definitely an element of whininess in there... but somehow I like her whining! The situation is exaggerated by the vocals being a bit too loud compared to the instruments. Otherwise, the balance between instruments is very good, also with sweet sounding cymbal and a range of great guitar sounds.
Finally, to the main style of this album: country rock, as heard in Cry Like a Baby, You Got the Car, Don't Talk Back, Mr Baylis and The Hard Way. All are very enjoyable songs. The lyrics in the chorus of Cry Like a Baby are a bit cliched, but the verses make amends for this. You Got the Car is a bit like The Captain with a nice dash of rock venom thrown in, and with fantastic storytelling in the lyrics. Normally I'd find the lyric "All the kings horses and all the kings men / Couldn't put me back together again" totally cringeworthy, somehow this genre makes it work perfectly! Don't Talk Back is quite similar, and is my favourite song in this style. While the chorus lyrics are a bit monotone, the rest of the song is fantastic. The background guitar and organ in Mr Baylis are a highlight, and somehow the simple and uplifting folk-rock style reminds me of the band The Eels. Meanwhile, The Hard Way feels derivative and uninspired by me, like "Country Style #8" was plucked off the songwriter's bookshelf and some generic lyrics were thrown in to fill in the blanks.
If this review is sounding harsh, that is unintended. Many of my criticisms are probably due to not appreciating the genre very well. It is very impressive that despite this ignorance on my behalf, there are many enjoyable moments on this album for me.
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