Will Kimbrough

Item: Home Away
Author: Thomas V. Bona

Home Away

(2002)

Reviewed by Thomas V. Bona

Discogs Apple Music Amazon Music Spotify YouTube Music

Label Waxy SilverThe Phantom Tollbooth2003

americana roots rock

The hardest thing about listening to Will Kimbrough's latest CD, Home Away, is getting past the first two tracks without hitting repeat.

"Piece of Work" -- a folk-meets-punk frenzy of drums, rapid-fire vocals and guitars -- and the anthemic rocker "This Modern World" make for one of the best one-two punches in recent memory.

But it's well worth getting deeper into the album, where Kimbrough slows it down, speeds it back up and mixes genres and styles with steady talent. The term singer/songwriter doesn't adequately explain Kimbrough's music, which is definitely a good thing.

Take, for instance, songs like "Crackup" and "Letdown," which evoke recent Wilco with their combination of guitar, synthesizer and horns; tender laments like "Champion of the World," the ragtime romp "Happier," or the soul crooner "War of Words."

A consistent strength is Kimbrough's lyrics, which flow so well, they often make a second rhythm track. On "Crackup," a song about being at the end of one's rope, he describes the feelings like this:

You don't know how you got to where you are now
Disillusionment has caught you somehow
And the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train.
You're walking on ice/To get it right once
You've got to mess it up twice

On the love song "Champion of the World," Kimbrough avoids sentimental cliches by singing about the "too good to be true" feeling many people have when they find the right one:

I was drunk on a Monday standing at the bar when somebody said
"Hey mister, would you help me start my car?
Well, I wouldn't know a sparkplug from the Duke of Earl
But when I drive home to my baby
I'm the champion of the world.

Perhaps the only fault of this album is the pacing -- the switches from fast to slow and back don't always come off smoothly. I find myself skipping around on the disc to pick a song that fits my mood. Then again, that might be because when I'm in my car, I'm more inclined for the rockers and when I'm at home, I dig the slower songs. But since I drive a lot these days, I keep going back to those first two gems. Kimbrough perhaps sums up his purpose in "This Modern World," when he sings:

Why don't you say what you mean?
You're just mouthing the right words
Looks like you're perfectly made for this modern world.
I'm just an old-fashioned guy
Strictly kicking it old-school
I don't think I can compete in this modern world.

For the sake of distinct, thoughtful music, let's hope he can.

4 tocks