Bill Callahan (1 Viewer)

There are plenty of artists who do simple and lovely. Personally a large part of what appeals to me about Callahan's songwriting is his talent for dark, witty lyrical touches. That and taking the occassional musical u turn. I'm talking about stuff like 'Ex Con', 'Bloodflow' 'Held'. Anyway, I guess the argument is really whether you think 'America' is a good song or not, you don't and I do.
 
Can't wait for the new album. The last one was a bit disappointing but Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle is fantastic. What a closing song.

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Heard this for the first time yesterday. Great song. Sounds like something I would have played on constant repeat about 15 years ago. My favourite Smog tempo..

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Terrible review here:
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18491-bill-callahan-dream-river/

Not terrible in that the journo clearly loves it (and Apocalypse) but she clearly has no clue what she's talking about.

...on Smog's 1997 album Red Apple Falls, and it's striking to consider how much has changed in the years since. Callahan's baritone has lowered about an octave; he used to sing through his nose but now his voice (a much richer and more resonant instrument) seems to come direct from the murkiest depths of his lungs. His arrangements have also grown more sparse, and on all fronts he’s learned how to say more with less. It’s one of many paradoxes in Callahan’s music, that in abandoning a method of singing more traditionally considered “expressive,” he's actually learned how to express more.

Surely the inverse is true? Nothing could be sparser than early Smog records. His recent stuff is far lusher with more time spent on arrangements. It's also more open and less tricky lyrically. I enjoy both sides to Bill Callahan but in trying to heap praise she sort of does a disservice to his stellar back catalogue and really I wouldn't trust this review as far as I could throw it.
 
Spent most of today listening to the new album. Its great. Some lovely optimistic moments.

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I really like it; quite light and breezy feel to it overall; it's beautifully played and recorded. The lead guitar playing is excellent.
 

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