Listening to any Old Man Luedecke album is a pleasurable
experience and the fruits of his latest endeavours show no deviation from the
norm. Apart from his own zestful exuberance for sharing a bottomless pit of
creative outpourings via the folk and roots music medium, Luedecke has once
again teamed up with Tim O’Brien, forming a formidable force of joint Grammy and
Juno winners. DOMESTIC ECCENTRIC rattles along with maximum effect showing the
value of the purposeful song wrapped in a velvet blanket of spellbinding acoustic
musicianship. The album is once again released on the esteemed Canadian label
True North Records, a trusted source for outstanding traditional inspired
music.
Luedecke and O’Brien took themselves off to a cabin in a secluded
part of Nova Scotia to make the record, mainly employing straight from the floor
recording techniques. Whether pinning the sound to banjo, fiddle, mandolin or
guitar, the input from O’Brien has proved invaluable. This creates a vibrant
background for the songs of Luedecke to adopt their intended premise of
conveying a personal message in an entertaining artistic manner. The biggest
clue to the message is the ‘Domestic’ side of the album title as Luedecke opens his heart to a revealing degree in extolling the virtues of love,
companionship, family and the stark reality of the many challenges faced in
these emotions. The ‘Eccentric’ part of the title is tougher to detect with
individualistic being a more relevant word to describe the increasingly
acclaimed artist that goes under the moniker of Old Man Luedecke.
Like so many good records, the album is bookended by a couple
of perfectly placed tracks core to the theme of the release. ‘Prologue: Yodelady’ can have no other
place than number one in the running order and sets the tone explicitly by
pouring out the heart at the start of a relationship. Just over forty-five minutes
later, Luedecke leaves us with the realistic sentiment of ‘Happy Ever After’ and the facing up to the ongoing challenges of
reality. In total, fourteen songs frequent this record and the sum of these
tracks adds up to a breezy listen with the pace rarely relenting. ‘The Early Days’ is one of the few
occasions where the foot eases off the acoustic pedal and this excellent
melodic track has been highlighted for further promotion.
Eventually the highly agreeable sonic vibes of the record
become so embedded that attention focuses to the immense quality of Luedecke’s
writing which has illuminated each track. Early in the record wider cultural
influences see songs materialise under titles such as ‘Girl with the Pearl Earring’ and ‘The Briar and the Rose’. Whether revolving songs around loose titles such as these or more specific personal references like ‘Chester Boat Song’ and ‘Now
We Got a Kitchen’, the theme is anchored to a back to basics view of life
and applying it to the things that matter most. Dreaming of the most simple
ambitions is revealed in the latter of these songs, while life gets even rawer
in the line ‘find freedom and freedom will find you’ as lifted from the
penultimate track ‘Year of the Dragon’.
Occasionally you get a bluegrass feel to the record as heard
in the short energetic number ‘Hate What
I Say’. Mandolin comes to the fore in another back to basics song curiously
titled ‘Low on the Hog’, while banjo leads
from the front on the rootsy ‘Wait a
While’ which reflects on the importance of companionship in a trade where
travelling is compulsory. A similar theme is dealt with in ‘Brightest on the Heart’ and advocating
the notion of clinging onto home thoughts while enduring the lonely travelling
life. To give the record a more intense sense of simplistic reality, ‘Real Wet Wood’ adds the spice of a rural
refuge and ‘Old High Way of Love’ is
yet another clever attempt to convey the ultimate importance of marriage and
family.
Of course all this is through the eyes of Old Man Luedecke
and an incredibly revealing montage of thoughts, hopes and experiences. The
perfect mix of astute writing and accomplished musicianship makes this another
assured record to flow into the ever crowded roots market, although with enough
strength to more than just keep afloat. Its underlying theme of 'time goes fast
so savour every minute' is a useful note to finish on and apply it to our choice
of music of which DOMESTIC ECCENTRIC by Old Man Luedecke deserves your
consideration.
www.oldmanluedecke.ca
