Don`t bother trying to jog to this album. I tried recently, and rather of burning calories, I ended up sitting on a bench, whittling, and petting stray dogs. As I discovered, All Birds Say, the second solo album from My Morning Jacket guitarist Carl Broemel, is the real definition of laidback. The vibration is contagious.
Broemel made his My Morning Jacket debut on 2005`s Z, one of the decade`s most critically lauded albums.
It only so happened to see the ring completely re-thinking their wide-eyed, Southern rock sound, exploring funk and space-rock, experimenting with previously unthinkable frills like programmed drum beats and synths. They even recorded Andrew Bird whistling on a track.
Perhaps it`s a conjunction that My Morning Jacket suddenly got a lot more musically eclectic and_well_interesting when Broemel joined, but one mind to All Birds Say only solidifies the correlation. This is a confident, finely crafted collection of songs that feels like a natural, albeit slightly more reflective, extension from Broemel`s main gig.
Not since the heydays of soft-rock kings like James Taylor and Seals & Crofts has an artist shown such command of charming, reflective songcraft. The ragged edges of My Morning Jacket`s sound (gnarly distorted guitars, powerhouse drumming) have been sanded away. Broemel`s sweet, assured tenor sports a cruise ship-load of refinement and texture, gently floating atop a constant instrumental bed of fingerpicked acoustics and quietly brushed drums. From a technical standpoint, his vocal delivery is obviously akin to My Morning Jacket vocalist Jim James (or Yim Yames, depending on which day, or band, it is) at his folkiest, resting comfortably in his middle register, adopting country twang and bluesy drawl when it suits a special track. But in terms of catharsis, this is miles off from the gut-wrenching, emotional outpour James demonstrates on the most rousing My Morning Jacket material.
That band`s fans will know the crystal drops of Broemel`s pedal steel guitar, but few could have predicted the number of breezy instrumental detail tucked away in these tunes, or the grace with which Broemel uses these layers to raise his simple laments on love, frustration, and greed. When muted trumpets pepper the lush, harmony-drenched singalong "Different People", playing call-and-response with the main vocal melody, the answer sounds simultaneously tossed-off and masterfully organized. "There`s a lotta different kinda people in the world", Broemel sings in the chorus, running though various religions and ideologies ("There`s the Krishnas and the Catholics, Agnostics and the Baptists") in a free-associative calm, channeling a less sarcastic Randy Newman leading a lot of hand-holding kiddies through a Sunday school romp.
The introduction to "In the Garden", with its electric reverb shimmer, is the closest All Birds Say gets to a My Morning Jacket level of majesty, but the group-charged sonics quickly fade, replaced by closely knit vocal harmonies and a buzzing oboe. In the men of his bandmates, this could have turned into a sprawling, winding barnburner. Instead, it`s a hushed, reflective highlight on an album chock-full of them. "Questions" could be the sexiest track of the year. Its glowing layers of wurlitzer, pedal steel, and jazzy electric guitar wind about the chorus come-on, "You ask a lotta questions / For somebody who knows".
We already knew Broemel could play. The final two My Morning Jacket albums (probably the band`s best albums) have proven that much. As All Birds Say proves, Broemel has one blaze of a voice, too-both as a actual singer and as a songwriter. His songs are wide of charm, warmth, and spirited performances, even if they aren`t particularly lively. That`s the key. Don`t let the sleepy structures scare you off. As Broemel wisely states during "Questions", "It takes a lot of patience to be patient".
For now, he`s still "that guy from My Morning Jacket". But, hell, if Broemel is patient, maybe his solo work will make him some congratulations on his own merits. Judging by the chilled-out, self-assured vibe of All Birds Say, I don`t suppose he`s too upset about it. Listen to only one running from All Birds Say, and before long, you`ll be below its spell, wondering where the last 40 minutes of your spirit went. It`s the smoothest album of the year.
Just think what I said around the jogging.
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