Many a fashion article says men in their 50s ought to wear layers, to mask the emerging wrinkles and give substance to the early shrivel of their frame no doubt.
And so it is with Bill Callahan’s first album in four years My Days of 58 where layers play a key role for the now 59-year-old singer songwriter.
His low husky voice and guitar at first, then a horn section here, and full band there.
This build up of layers is particularly prevalent on opener Why Do Men Sing? Here the track starts with just Callahan’s voice, acoustic picking and slight background swirl. The guitar strumming builds up and soon there’s a full band, backing vocals and a wonderful horn section.
It’s a strategy he replicates throughout, such as on The Man I’m Supposed To Be, where instead of a horn section, electric guitar fills the gaps later on.
As befits a man who, as Smog, penned the marvellous song Dress Sexy at My Funeral, there’s lost of fun with wordplay and phrasing.
Pathol OG is a perfect example of this, especially the line: “Which is the exact opposite reason of why I got into this in the first place. I started to wonder: is this creativity or pathology? Am I the Pathol O.G.?
Also worth a mention on this consistently good collection of country tinged songs is Lonely City, especially the contrast with his singing here and the backing vocals of Eve Searls.
By Joe Lepper
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