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Herman will be plagued by vocal
comparisons to J Mascis, J Lennon, and N Young. With this
aside, his minimal folk instrumentation and brilliant lyrics
can be addressed. This is a thoughtful and clever human we
are dealing with. Darkness and levity exist in us to some
degree at the same time. Jolly recognizes this and acknowledges
both with equal expertise.
Futility has two voices here:
first represented in sorrow and regret in Crooked Vein.
In which the alcoholic subject describes more undeserved than
unrequited love. The more light-hearted You Crazy states,
"I crammed your cat into the dryer / to try and make
you crazy / but you were already crazy."
The sparseness of Lady’s Hands
and Slow Dance invoke Mazzy Star. The former makes
beauty of a horrific subject, with homicidal echoing steel.
While the later has the innocence of one who views women as
muses. Alternately lionizing and vilifying them in turn.
Drunk finds the singer
close to falling asleep at the guitar. His brand of high-pitched
singing mistakenly thought to impress women keeps him awake.
The hilarious run-on sentence Gin Kicks In follows
as an instant classic. Quotes from this song will circulate
for years. Ween sneaks Gone on the album. Woodshack
Willy proves that Gin is not a fluke, touting,
" the countriest western singer I ever saw."
The Dream cruelly tells the story of an unwanted
gift.
After these country blues highlights,
the remainder falls flat unless you really, really like Rufus
Wainright.
- Ewan Wadharmi
Track Listing
- Crooked Vein
- You Crazy
- Lady’s Hands
- Slow Dance
- Drunk
- Gin Kicks In
- Gone Gone Gone
- Woodshack Willy
- The Dream
- Gingerbread Mansion
- Christmas Yet
- No Joy Bad Luck Club
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Herman
Jolly 
