Release Date: April 5, 2011
Bill Callahan is a master lyricist. In his 14 studio albums as Smog, (Smog) and finally as Bill Callahan, he is always plainspoken but never stupid, simple in word selection, yet evocative and multi-layered in meaning. Musically, his instrumentation is never groundbreaking, rather it is usually a very consistent lo-fi alternative country, but his poetic strength and subtle dark humor pull him through all other shortcomings.
Bill knows this: He knows his talent is in his wordplay and in choosing to emphasize that, he makes his newest album, Apocalypse, an engaging listen despite its stylistic similarity to many of his earlier releases.
Callahan’s previous album (and the second to be released under his real name), Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle, was lyrically diverse, but the album as a whole was dark and somber. Surprisingly, Apocalypse could be better described as a bittersweet album, one that chooses to linger entirely on the good and the bad in American culture. In this regard, Apocalypse might be seen as a concept album. Callahan focuses on the theme of American decay from the very beginning and holds it to the very end. In the opener, “Drover” Callahan’s deadpan baritone voice delivers the line, “One thing about this wild, wild country, it takes a strong strong, it breaks a strong, strong mind.” The theme of mental anguish and American ennui is a constant, tying force that pulls the album together nicely. It is complemented well by the fact that Callahan’s music is in many ways purely American. His banjos, sweeping flutes and numerous folk influences capture the plains of the American Midwest in a way that no other music really could.
After a sound beginning, the album really picks up steam around the third track, “America!” Though the earlier tracks “Drover” and “Baby’s Breath” are technically sound, both are similar to Callahan’s earlier work. This similarity could become a massive problem, but a new driving force arrives in the form of a front-porch banjo riff and the introduction of a fuzzy, distorted electric guitar which complement the album’s most bitter and ironic song. “Well everyone’s allowed a past they don’t care to mention… America!” jokes Callahan.
Topping off the record is one of the best album closers released this year: “One Fine Morning.” It’s an almost nine-minute track that starts slowly but builds to a very powerful ending that manages to tie the whole album together. Lines are pulled from earlier songs, themes are addressed and conclusions are reached as Callahan pulls all his thoughts together to form one final ultimatum. It’s really well done and easily the highlight of the entire album.
For all the praise heaped onto Apocalypse, there are still a few minor things weighing the record down. Musically, it’s that the introduction of the electric guitar in “America!” and a greater emphasis on piano in later songs are the only things that separate Apocalypse from Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle. That is not a great deal of change. If both albums were shuffled together it would be very difficult to discern which track came from which record.
Adding to this problem is the fact that most tracks aren’t as strong as those on Eagle, either. The selection on Apocalypse isn’t bad, but you won’t find anything quite as moving or powerful as “Too Many Birds” on the earlier album. Luckily, Callahan’s style is still mostly fresh and exciting and the songs from Eagle are only a fraction better, so the album survives.
All in all, Apocalypse may sound a lot like Callahan’s earlier albums, but its message, which is poignant and masterfully expressed, make this album worth checking out. It isn’t an extreme reworking of Callahan’s sound, but it still manages to be an important album because of the poetry of Callahan’s lyricism and the strength and longevity of the styles he had already established.
Bill Callahan – Apocalypse Tracklisting:
- “Drover”
- “Baby’s Breath”
- “America!”
- “Universal Applicant”
- “Riding for the Feeling”
- “Free’s”
- “One Fine Morning”
