Sometimes I Wish I Were An Eagle
"Boring" and "huge letdown" seemed to be the general consensus on Bill Callahan's last album Woke On A Whaleheart. Thirteen albums into his professional recording career, people seem to expect big things from the man behind the Smog nomme-de-guerre. But the expectations may be a bit unfair - Bill Callahan will probably never give you anything big. What he does manage to do, and do very well, is give you really good things in very small doses. You must have patience (and headphones).
I'm of the consensus view for Woke On A Whalheart, but Callahan's new album Sometimes I Wish I Were An Eagle seems to be a return to form. Like much of his work as Smog, Callahan has finds assurance on this album in his tender baritone voice, once again supported by subtle, repetitive acoustic guitars, and even subtler orchestral arrangements. Like on the album standout "Too Many Birds," where the final verse builds to a climax adding words, one at a time, to the line, "If you could only stop your heartbeat for one heartbeat," this record never hits you over the head with its profundity. Instead, it allows you to be sucked in by the unassuming nature of the music, setting you up for the emotional punch that often comes when you least expect it.
Bill Callahan - Jim Cain
Bill Callahan - Too Many Birds
Sometimes I Wish I Were An Eagle is out now on Drag City
