It is probably unfair to compare any singer/songwriter to the mighty Leonard Cohen, but after listening to this album a few times the similarity seems almost impossible to ignore. This it the American’s fifth album and if you are in a good mood, this album will certainly try its best to kick you out of it.
The album starts with the only single to date off the album , ‘County Line’, (“That your pain is never-ending, but is it still the same”). It serves as a good opening track, showcasing Cass’ folk sound as well as his by now distinctive voice (not dissimilar to a young Cohen, in my opinion).
On the first few listens, what hits me is how beautiful the album is in its simplicity. There is nothing extravagant going on throughout this album, in ‘Buried Alive’ the title of the track is repeated time and time again until it becomes almost hypnotic. At times during the album, the lyrics seem to fade into insignificance, just becoming another instrument to listen to and get lost in.
7 minute long ‘Memory’s Stain’ is one of the standout tracks on the album (“‘Boozing is the highest aim/when spittle won’t get out memory’s stain”). Like I said, this isn’t a cheery album. This is one to listen to when you’re in a pensive/sombre mood. A Sunday evening album.
The best song is most definitely left to last with ‘A Knock Upon the Door’, a story about a minstrel and his muse clocks in at over 9 minutes. All 8 verses end in a ‘knock’ on the guitar as the simple beat and repetitive guitar riff help you get lost in the story. By the time I had listened to the album a number of times, I was wishing the preceding tracks would hurry up so I could listen to this amazing song again and again.
If you like your music to be slow and your singer-songwriters to be bordering on the depressive then Wit’s End by Cass McCombs is the album for you.