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BREAKING NEWS: BILL CALLAHAN MAKES BEST ALBUM OF 2009. STILL SAD.


Posted by Hartley On Mar 27, 2009

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The actual music is nowhere near as boring as this cover art is. just sayin'.

He used to put out a lot of records as Smog, and then a funny thing happened with Bill Callahan. He put out a record under his actual name. Yes, in 2007 Bill Callahan made one of my favorite records of that year, Woke On A Whaleheart. It was unusually upbeat for Mr. Callahan whose previous albums as Smog dare I say by comparson could've made Leonard Cohen sound like The Raspberries - but I digress. Not only did Whaleheart feature some pretty kick-ass, Robert Pollard-esq chopped'n'screwed album art - SEE:

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this is THE SHIT.

but it was also the first Callahan record that I absolutely fell in love with. Dude sounded great with an actual band behind his groggy cracked baritone - as opposed to just a rickety nylon string guitar. Furthermore, where in previous releases I could only take the misanthropic American gothic downer thing in small doses, here it seemed not only that Callahan was writing more diverse material but the shimmering way the songs were all arranged made Callahan's barbs go down WAY easy. In other words, it was a masterpiece. And maybe more importantly, it's still one of the only records from 2007 I actually listen to.

Well. Don't call it comeback. Much like fellow prolific Drag City label-mate Will Oldham, it seems only Bill Callahan can follow a classic with yet another classic. Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle (cover art notwithstanding) is every bit as spellbinding as Whaleheart was, and perhaps if my iTunes plays of the last month are any indication it's even better. Born out of the reckage of Callahn's relationship with Freak Folk (CRINGE ALERT!) harpist Joanna Newsom (who gossip rags tell me left Callahan for SNL's Andy Samberg of all people or some such nonsense - HOW BIZARRE NO!?) Eagle is Whaleheart's dark "arty" brother. So yeah - it's 9 brooding, arresting songs, one of which is even called "Faith/Void". And yet - you should not let that scare you away - honestly, in a toss up between this and Beck's similarly-theme break-up folk record of yore, Sea Change, I'm clearly going with the Callahan. In fact, Eagle may be the best oblique folk music put to tape since the Johnny Cash American recordings Boxed Set. No Joke. 

Enough cannot be said for the lavish - almost Ennio Morricone-like arrangements that drape Callahn's musings like North Face jackets do Phish fans on this thing. The record just sounds absolutely gorgeous. Crescendos galore! "Eid Ma Clack Shaw" even has some "Eleanor Rigby" cello shit that spooks me out in the best way possible - only to be followed up by some Morrocan Middle-Eastern cadences on "The Wind And The Dove." And check the titles - there are bird references EVERYWHERE. You could pretty much devise  an awesome Callahan "spot the bird reference" drinking game that would leave you shit face probably by song 3. My personal fave tune is the vaguely soulful balled, "Too Many Birds" and that's the song I'm going to post for consumption below. But it doesn't matter really - you should just hit us up for this record immediately, you need to hear the whole thing - together, in sequence. Yes. Don't roll you're eyes at me. Seriously. It's an ALBUM. Remember those? More people should break up with Joanna Newsom and make hott ass records like this. My potential number 1 album of 2009. Holler.

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