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I was first introduced to the music of Johnathan Rice in a
live setting, the kid and his acoustic guitar. I fell in love with
the songs and Rice's poetry almost immediately. When his debut Trouble
Is Real was released, I was a bit disappointed by the vast, orchestral
production and the loss of the intimacy that I had come to love in
his live performance. After repeated listenings I came to appreciate
the album for its intrinsic beauty and excellent production, although
I still longed for the intimacy and stripped down fare of his live
show. When Rice's latest release Further North was released,
I was immediately captivated by the sound of the album and the attitude
being conveyed. Gone were the strings, gone were the softer moments
of near silence… instead, the world has been re-introduced to
a new Johnathan Rice: a wiser, more mature, and more sonically interesting
man - no longer a kid. From the opening notes of "We're All Stuck
Out In The Desert" it is plain that there's been some growing
up on Rice's part, as well as the indisputable fact that the city
of Los Angeles and California itself have worked their way into his
blood, becoming as much a part of him as Scotland, or anything, ever
has been. I feel I could write an entire treatise based on this one
song; the dense Petty-ish drumming, the thick guitar sound,
the swirling lap steel, and the rich tapestry that has become Rice's
voice. This new poetry is aggressive and fearless, never approaching
offense, but spelling out the ambience of LA like the novels of John
Fante. The sound is immediate and requires attention, never allowing
the ear to lose interest, and the lyrics are supremely captivating
and not a little disquieting. "Well I took a camera on vacation/
to fit Miami in a frame/she didn't mind she blew me kisses, said 'Well,
what's your name?'/I planned my dinner at the hotel/but then my dinner
plans got wrecked/an investment banker started something so I broke
his neck/We're all stuck out in the desert and we're gonna die/wipe
that sand and salt from your blistering eyes." The title track
forsakes Rice's poppy past and recalls Everybody Knows This Is
Nowhere-era Neil Young, with blistering guitar tones overlaying
a bed of loose acoustic beauty and dense rhythms. The lyrics are a
bit self-deprecating and illustrative of the conundrum of the songwriter's
need to balance truth with entertainment. "The Middle Of The
Road" is a bouncing country track with rambling piano and Band-esque
vibe, filled with vivid California imagery in the lyrics. "THC"
gets a bit psychedelic, dragging the rhythm and then breaking loose
into an almost BRMC style blues-dirge. This track is very cool,
evoking the spirit of the late 60's California scene. Rice is joined
by Jenny Lewis on a few tracks, including the beautiful "It
Couldn't Be Me," a laidback story that fits nicely into the cool
serenity of a Los Angeles springtime. An interesting note is that
Jenny Lewis also co-wrote a majority of the album - especially the
more love-driven tracks - perhaps breathing a bit of her approachable
darkness into these songs and giving them a larger more mature sound.
The album swings back into heavier territory on the simple, yet powerful
"Giving It Up". This track lays down solid grooves, west
coast attitude, and some very disenfranchised lyrics. "The Ballad
Of King Coyote" is a wonderful track, filled with deep, stomping
drums and scrubby acoustics that once more recall Howl-era
BRMC. The track makes a simple statement about the LA area and the
environmental devastation that humans have wrought. "What Am
I Going To Do?" kicks of with Roger McGuinn-style 12-string
guitar licks and leads into the most poppy moment on the record. The
song is undeniably Californian, with a very 60's feel to the rhythm
and vocal harmonies. The albums finishes with an incredibly simple
track called "It Is Best To Keep It All Inside", a track
that sounds akin to the music being made by Leonard Cohen in
his salad days with its soft piano and rhythmic acoustic guitar. This
track is solid and makes a perfect low-key ending for an incredible
record; songs filled with darkness and wonderful poetry about the
best and worst of the human condition and a sonic beauty that spans
genres and makes for what is sure to be one of the best records of
2008.
-Embo Blake
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