[rating=8.00]
The genius in indie rocker Cass McComb’s latest effort Big Wheel and Others lies in the intricate musical arrangements. The opening, driving “Big Wheel” starts the listener on a musical journey filled with catchy guitar fills poured over a variety of bass lines and back beats. Perhaps the album’s strongest track “There Can Only be One” is a mosaic of guitar parts played over a smoldering groove.
McCombs’ vocals are unremarkable but in a good way. His almost conversational tone contributes to the album’s overall consistent sound. The R & B sounding “Honesty is No Excuse” benefits from his easy delivery. The brooding blues of “The Burning of the Temple, 2012” and the dark sounding, “Joe Murder” demonstrate the twenty-two song release is a complex, far reaching work of art. The music travels from the delicate, acoustic, country steel guitar of “Angel Blood” to the stripped, Robert Johnson, blues of “Unearthed”.
McComb’s attention to detail is not limited to the music. His lyrical perspective is captured in the pseudo heavy metal rocker “Satan is My Toy”: “Satan is my toy/And Jesus is my boy, The Devil is my pal/And Mary is my gal.” A poet attuned to the attention span and shorthand of generations raised on social media. However, the title track’s, “What does it mean to be a man/How you gonna tell me who I am/A man is bolts, a man is rust/For a little while then a man is dust,” demonstrate both his lyrics and subjects run deeper then a cursory glance.
“Morning Star”, “Sooner Cheat Death than Fool Love” and “Brighter!” are mid-tempo numbers with hooky verses and choruses, respectively. The album’s only shortcoming may be that the material is too varied. “It Means A Lot To Know You Care” is a muzak on steroids instrumental that sounds a little out of place here. The album is also interspersed with three outtakes from the documentary Sean. Interviews of a 4 year old kid living with parents in Haight-Ashbury in the 60’s The topics and conversations are very politically incorrect which contributes to their entertainment value, although there context here is unclear.
McCombs has been previously classified as “Americana/Alt Country” but that reference would not be fair here. While there are subtle references to various musical styles, Big Wheel and Others is a collection of very well-written, original songs.
