A Lesson In Language
Eastbound Jesus are like Old Crow Medicine Show without the
tenacious twang, more Americana then which is where I could have started but
that is so quick and easy I thought I’d at least get an alliteration in the
naming. But it’s not just for semantic show, EJ do like their banjo – in fact I
think this is the thread that sews all their songs to Country/Bluegrass roots,
but the actual route they’ve taken musically is Rock as well, which I guess
takes us back to the shorthand of Americana.
Other clues are in the song titles: Out Yonder [vernacular];
Waitin’ On The Sun; Sittin’ By The River [it’s in the contractions]; My Old Pickup Truck [vehicular content -
though I think linguistic continuity should have had the adjective as Ol’].
And this is, I know, a self-indulgent tease before revealing
that the music, and whole album, is superb, if you like this sort of thing,
so the naming and genre generalising do have a purpose. I have thoroughly enjoyed
listening to all eleven tracks and having enjoyed their playing and musicality
I need to listen again to the storytelling which is also generic but nonetheless
fully engaging. Talkin’ To John About The
Weather is brightly indicative of the whole caboodle: banjo and some pedal
setting the tone, and a narrative that seems plausible – talkin’ to John that
is – and the cleverness is in the lyrical ruse that allows Eastbound Jesus to
sing about themselves and their songwriting muse.
An all-round excellent album.
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| Ol' pickup truck I presume |
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