Sound Republic: Album Reviews
Ben Weaver - Stories Under Nails
By Brad Treeby
14 January 2006
14 January 2006
The fourth album for Minnesota’s answer to Tom Waits, ‘Stories Under Nails’ (released late last year) is a collection of melancholic stories told with such confounding animosity that it leaves you wondering if anything good has ever happened to Ben Weaver.
The fourth album for Minnesota’s answer to Tom Waits, ‘Stories Under Nails’ (released late last year) is a collection of melancholic stories told with such confounding animosity that it leaves you wondering if anything good has ever happened to Ben Weaver. There are no happy endings here but the follow up to his critically acclaimed album ‘Hollerin’ at a Woodpecker’ presents a very moving reminder that music isn’t all about soda-pop lyrics and pretty clothes – it can tell a story to and Weaver’s lyrics read like poetry. Admirably the record steers very clear of the current alt-country trends set about by badge wearing indie kids experimenting with slide guitars and banjos.
On first listen there does seems to be a distinct lack of memorable hooks when compared to albums like the Eels ‘Daisy’s of the Galaxy’ or other slightly more upbeat takes from similar genres. But if you are going to play Americana folk country music, then don’t pretty it up – serve it strong just as Ben Weaver does with a sour whisky, a lifetime of heartbreak and a lost soul walking the wilderness with a pitchfork.
This is a record that grows on you with each listen, the arrangements understated and songs taking on further meaning as they slowly reveal the depth of their murky colours. The lyrics are stirring and meaningful, with songs like ‘Ole Mule’ and ‘Like a Wound’ leaving you wishing you could buy this guy a drink to lift his spirits a little. Grab this disk, sit in a dark room with something neat on ice and remind yourself that even if your life sucks, you can still write a kickass record..
On first listen there does seems to be a distinct lack of memorable hooks when compared to albums like the Eels ‘Daisy’s of the Galaxy’ or other slightly more upbeat takes from similar genres. But if you are going to play Americana folk country music, then don’t pretty it up – serve it strong just as Ben Weaver does with a sour whisky, a lifetime of heartbreak and a lost soul walking the wilderness with a pitchfork.
This is a record that grows on you with each listen, the arrangements understated and songs taking on further meaning as they slowly reveal the depth of their murky colours. The lyrics are stirring and meaningful, with songs like ‘Ole Mule’ and ‘Like a Wound’ leaving you wishing you could buy this guy a drink to lift his spirits a little. Grab this disk, sit in a dark room with something neat on ice and remind yourself that even if your life sucks, you can still write a kickass record..
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