Refugee Blues: A Brief Review Of Down To The Marshes From David Lance Callahan (The Wolfhounds, Moonshake)

The grinding guitar tones of "Refugee Blues" roar through a record billed as a pastoral one. It shouldn't be a surprise that when turning to English folk traditions, David Lance Callahan would inject some of the energy he brought to his work in The Wolfhounds. Down to the Marshes, his latest solo album, may have been inspired by genres sometimes dubbed folk, but the tunes here are as fiery as possible.

The gnarly "Father Thames and Mother London" seems like the heart of this record, guitar squall mixing it up with horns in a manner that pleases and pushes back at a listener. This one, and the title cut reveal faint hints of points of inspiration that one could trace back to Richard Thompson, though Callahan is more inspired in making his own folk rock. What's here on Down to the Marshes is a decidedly English sort of music, with the lyrical concerns anchored by the proto-primitive tune-age. David shoots energy into these cuts, and the results are reminiscent of mid-period The The, where a sort of morose-yet-hopeful yearning is brought to the surface through deeply-felt alt-rock forms.

Down to the Marshes has the qualities of a fever dream. It's full of complex melodic lines and a purposefully rough accompaniment. That combination gives this material a spark that sets it apart from what we think of when we think of folk rock. On the elegant closer "Island State", the whole record reaches its peak, with Callahan's lovely vocals providing a sense of peace after a journey through territory that's both rustic and natural.

Down to the Marshes by David Lance Callahan is out now. Details via the Bandcamp link.

[Photo: James Fry]