It's here folks! James David Wolf's follow-up release - Trazodreams - is equal parts beauty and provocation. Fans of James David Wolf's debut Special will instantly recognize and appreciate his observations and his ability to articulate them with keen wit and romantic honesty. In addition to this release, below is the first video from Trazodreams for the song entitled "Tricks I Play On Myself".
"At
first, I thought I was listening to a collection of well crafted pop songs -
which I was. But then, I started to get an inkling that perhaps Wolf was
actually saying something. Then I began to focus on the lyrics. Unlike most
pop music these days, when you scratch the surface of these songs - you'll find
something other than more surface.
On
the opening track, "Everyone's A Rock Star," we see a slice of the American-Idol-X-Factor-The-Voice-America's-Got-Talent
generation that puts us all just an audition away from riches and happiness
("at the Stop-and-Rob, Ahkbar talks about his band"). Cut two,
"Trust Fund Baby" is the other side of that same shiny
coin-in-the-sky. Over a catchy pop background, Wolf sings, "I hate my job
on the assembly line / wish I'd been born a trust fund baby". It's a wry
take on the everyman anthem. The days of the 'poor but honest' hard worker
breaking his back to support his family are no longer seen as a worthy pursuit.
All or nothing are the only choices. It's like Springsteen in Bizarro World.
Another
emotional well that is deftly tapped on this collection is sweet love songs.
"Moments Like These" (“when money's worth less than sweet memories /
moments like these will make a wealthy man of me..”) and "What Were The Odds" ("gypsy … sees our love spanning all space and time").
Both with uplifting melodies and earnest lyrics. I believe these songs when
Wolf sings them. The message rings true.
The
stand-out track, to me is "Tricks I Play On Myself". Over a Beatl-ish
Sgt. Pepper era background, comes a sweetly-sad look at the disconnect we
sometimes feel between our reality and how we wish things would be
("hope's a cruel witch / Queen of bait and switch"). Redemption comes
when the singer drops all expectations, to find "freedom in reality".
It's a beautiful sentiment and a catharsis of discovery, delivered with an
almost detached melancholy.
Emotional
baggage takes center-stage with the droll "Let's Keep It Superficial"
("history shows I lack the skill for bonding / childhood scars, the psych
nurse says that's why"). It's actually a sad story of alienation and
emotional abuse, but delivered with a top-hat-and-cane flourish ("can't we
be a pair of life-size cardboard cutouts"), that had me tapping my toe and
smiling the whole way through.
On
"Thin Skin", Wolf mines the age-old father-son relationship - and
comes up with a shocker. After a
childhood of physical abuse, the boy in this story "earns his masters and
builds a life in the burbs".. But eventually, he can no longer ignore his
past. The music turns dark and with it, years of turmoil erupt from the
emotional depths ("from his knees the old man wept for reprieve..").
This is not your mother's pop music.
"When Music Was Magic" reminds us of the bone-deep ties between events in our
lives and the music that helped define them. ("the mojo in those rhymes
sends my heart traveling back in time..")
Modern
country music ("songs about sexy tractors") is skewered in "Dumb It Down". A dream brings "Waylon & Harlan & Johnny
himself" together to bemoan the current state of the genre ("the road
to writing hit songs turned since we left town..") One wonders if Waylon
and the boys could even find a gig these days..
Wolf
tackles serious and heady subject matter with heart, irony introspection and
candor. He sings in a clear, conversational voice to convey his deceptively
layered lyrics. Sometimes, he clips his words in a unique way and I have to
admit that I swear I hear a 'wink' in his voice, even when he's being
completely sincere.
The
musical tracks on Trazodreams are a sturdy setting for these gems.
Though Wolf has taken a mostly no-frills musical approach to these songs, the
backing music adds just the right punch of humor or pathos - at just the right
moment.
Like
a more gut-honest Randy Newman or a less snarky Warren Zevon, Wolf populates
these songs with his innermost demons. We're witness to a physically and
emotionally painful childhood and to long battles fought to find a place of
spiritual and philosophical comfort . On Trazodreams, James David Wolf
invites us into some very dark and private places. I highly recommend taking
the journey."
