Geoff Farina – The Wishes Of The Dead
Former Karate front-man pens beautifully realised folk-leaning love letter to the Kennebec River.
The notion of a singer-songwriter retreating into rural environs to make a lo-fi acoustic record can understandably send shivers down the spine of many discerning music enthusiasts, especially in the current climate of neck-beards and four tracks. Fortunately this record will be spared from the realm of parody in The Onion, being a beautifully realised suite of warmly evocative folk-leaning fables of simple, honest living in relatively unfamiliar surroundings. Nominally Chicago based musician Geoff Farina, more commonly known as frontman and guitarist for Karate during the heyday of nineties indie rock and latterly of Glorytellers, spent a year living on the banks of the great Kennebec River in the US State of Maine. Running some 170 miles from the Gulf of Maine up to the Moosehead Lake, the Kennebec neighbours many small towns, some of which are chronicled by Farina on The Wishes Of The Dead, his first solo record since the experimental Blobscape was released a decade ago. It’s an album which sees the guitarist find his voice in the style of old-fashioned minstrelsy, penning songs teeming with the minutiae of a humble existence amidst the inhabitants of New England.
Farina has always been an artist with an avowed interest in the heritage of North American music – indeed, he has taught music history at DePaul University, where his courses featured revealing names such as That High Lonesome Sound: Bluegrass 1936-1972 and What Were The Blues? 1920-1960. Whereas Karate were an often inconsistent, occasionally maddeningly hit or miss band which toed the line between third wave emocore and jazz experimentation, Farina’s solo work has much more in common with the grand traditions of roots music – in particular folk, blues, bluegrass and ragtime. The Wishes Of The Dead is in many ways a showcase of his relatively unique guitar playing, which melds the finger-picking styles of East Coast blues with the steel and slide guitar techniques of the Delta blues, as well as more contemporary flat-picking influences. The songs sit atop skilfully composed beds of exquisitely woven acoustic guitar parts, usually comprised of a thumb-picked bass-line with a trebly syncopated melody. Whereas previously Farina was often regarded for his jazzy interludes and more rock oriented usage of feedback, as an acoustic guitarist his arrangements are much more precise and carefully routed. The playing is absolutely terrific throughout and much like the aforementioned Blobscape, could easily stand alone as an instrumental album.
Fortunately, Farina has also considerably improved as a singer and lyricist over the years. Although there is a certain air of complexity and virtuosity in his excellent guitar-playing, it’s his sense of calm, utilitarian restraint which ultimately makes this album a compelling listen. Whilst musically there is a certain amount of mimicry, thankfully Farina adopts a robust and plain-spoken approach for his singing, completely eschewing the vocal theatrics of many solo acoustic performers. We’re also spared the lyrical melodrama and uncomfortable voyeurism which occasionally goes hand in hand with confessional singer-songwriter albums. Instead, The Wishes Of The Dead is an album which is more concerned with recounting the every-day small town existence of New Englanders or the thoughtful maturity which comes with advancement into middle age. The characters are not fashionable twenty-somethings leading comfortable, primarily digital existences in urban environments but working couples with young families, elderly artisans and socially disenfranchised wanderers. On the gentle, simmering reverie ‘Scotch Snaps’ Farina recounts approaching musicians at obscure fiddle contests and regional bluegrass concerts to seek advice on his fretting technique. The beatific opener ‘Prick Up Your Ears’ reports the mixed feelings of a rural town bidding a difficult farewell to departing soldiers. It’s a refreshing change of pace from the by rote solipsism which one is occasionally forced to associate with acoustic singer-songwriters.
The album highlight is probably the near title track ‘Hammer and Spade’ – a pitch perfect slice of Americana documenting the trials and tribulations of early settlers in North America. At face value, it’s a song which celebrates the pioneering attitudes of a burgeoning community but the underlying moral is the importance of taking care of one’s own. “Care for the fields which bear your bread”, intones Farina in his candid semi-baritone voice. Ultimately it’s the humble and earnest reportage of Farina’s excursion into the settlements along the banks of the Kennebec which sets this album apart. One of the principle dangers of an artist visiting a relatively foreign locale is the implied tourism of the situation. Although the guitarist could be said to be looking for relief from modern existence amidst the musical ephemera and antique stores which he lovingly references, one is also given the sensation that he has captured some of the aesthetics of the past without resorting to cloying nostalgia or overly-reverential homage. “Can you show me just where to find an anthem unrefined?” Asks Farina during one song. “When I play it I want to make it mine”. Mission accomplished.
Geoff Farina – The Wishes Of The Dead
2012 – Damnably
Geoff Farina Website.
Damnably Records.
