From the moment this opening song flexes its muscles with
lines such as ‘I’ve seen the redwoods and northern lights, just wait until they
see you’, you are in the grip of hypnotic writing delivered exquisitely by a perceptive
tune melody. Schmidt’s previously album OWLS rolled out to a similar impact in
2015, but you get the feeling that STANDARD DEVIATION moves the gauge along a
little further. This view is propelled forward with the most powerful of album
closers as the topic of ‘miscarriage’ or more precisely the language applied, is
tossed into the open forum under the subtle title ‘We Need a Better Word’. Only a Danny Schmidt album could start on
the right foot and conclude anchored to the left.
The build up to this emotive finale comes in the guise of a
frank view of family life in ‘Bones of
Emotion’. A song that concludes a trio of tracks which lift the record into
a higher stratosphere in the second half than reached in the first. Forming this chain of tracks are the catchy
earworm number ‘Last Man Standing’
and an equally infectious piece of song writing detailing the Jefferson Highway
(a road from Winnipeg to New Orleans) in ‘The
Longest Way’. In these two tracks, the sound saunters into the realm of
country music, partially inspired by the presence of fiddle in the former and
visions of Johnny Cash in the latter. A country sound is also detected in ‘Agents of Change’, in contradiction to
the ‘that very’ urban theme of gentrification inspiring the track.
Consensus would label Danny Schmidt a folk singer, and he
lives up to this tag midway through the album with ‘Newport ‘65’; a track leaving very little to the imagination with
words like ‘prophet’, and ‘shepherd’ joining blasts of harmonica alongside a
little folk music commentary. Linking the theme of meaningful writing, the
irony of the track ‘Words are Hooks’
is not lost as it takes the nous of a master words craft person to ponder the
power of language’s key component.
It would not be a Danny Schmidt album without at least one
head-scratching track and the title piece ‘Standard
Deviation’ excavates deep into a swirling world of mathematics and possible
metaphors for love. As much as songwriters like the listener to get the
message, pleasure can too be derived from twisting words into own
interpretations.
While not pushing the album’s heavyweight tracks, the gorgeous
tones of ‘Blue Eyed Hole in Time’
warrants the final word, not least in the general feel of optimism that surrounds
the record, despite some of the darker moments. Maybe a repeated theme of the
newborn in the last mentioned track plays a part in this summation.
The poetic virtue of STANDARD DEVIATION makes this album
another valuable addition to the ever-widening Danny Schmidt back catalogue.
Sometimes we just have to celebrate having him in our sphere of listening and
be thankful that songs can accrue so much pleasure in this format.
