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CHRIS MCFARLAND
As If To Lay To Rest (In Music We Trust)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
It took a couple spins for me to wrap my head around Chris McFarland's sophomore effort, As If To Lay To Rest. The first time through I took it as a pretty depressing set of songs by a pretty depressed singer/songwriter - kind of an alt.rock version of James McMurtry. Frankly, I don't consider depression one of the most attractive qualities in a human being, and I wasn't sure whether I had anything to say about this one that was worth the effort.
It's kind of the Cosmik Creed, though, to give every album an honest chance, so I punched replay and soon discovered that I was wrong the first time around. It's not depression that drives this material, it's anger, and that's an emotion that's been the source of many a great song. It's the source of some pretty damned good songs right here.
McFarland's particular talent is to access his anger as a means to exorcise his anger, a process that puts the proverbial silver lining into some of the storm clouds of sound he cranks out. Long a solo acoustic act, he still sticks primarily to acoustic guitar, but the sound is beefed up by bass and drums. Bassist Josh Bandy and drummer Adam Hatley's contributions are often better described as rumble than as rhythm, but what they do fits the material McFarland offers them. McFarland's vocals are somewhat idiosyncratic, and sometimes he reaches a little too hard in trying to convey the depths of his angst, but you gotta respect a man willing to publically own his angst, and again, what he's doing is in service to the material. You know how sometimes the only way to process your stuff is to just stand there and scream? Some of this is that kind of music. Done in the right way, at the right time, for the right reasons, a scream can make you feel better. Listened to in the right mood, at the right time, with enough attention, this angry album can make you feel better, too.
Track List:
Drive * Alarm * One Good Thing * Twang * By Definition * Sick * And At Once * Begin With Measurements * The Evils Of A Calendar Year
© 2001 - Shaun Dale