Album Review: Come Back As Rain

Come Back As Rain by Good Old War (Sargent House, 2012. 38 minutes)

Good Old War is Keith Goodwin, Daniel Schwartz, and Tim Arnold. The band started after they recorded free demos in a late night session at a studio. Good Old War have played at the South by Southwest festival in Texas, and toured with both Anthony Green and Alison Krauss. They are currently signed on the label Sargent House.

Americana Pop 

Good Old War has been active since their 2008 release of Only Way To Be Alone. With an album in 2010, Good Old War didn’t change much. But, this new release, entitled Come Back As Rain provides evidence of a maturing, sophisticated sound. The band’s sound is beginning to develop in a positive direction. The song, “Better Weather” offers proof. The song features tight, three-part harmony, which once you hear it, you’ll understand why I think the band might be on their way to join the folk/Americana greats like Alison Krauss.

One downside with Come Back as Rain is that while it is definitely a folk/Americana album, it errs too much on the side of pop. Following the trail of many tight-harmony bands like Mumford & Sons, Good Old War tries, perhaps too hard, to gain popularity.

Lyrical Depth 

Given the band’s sound, Good Old War clearly spends time tightening vocal harmonies reminding the listener of the Beach Boys. Such a position is something I’m thankful for, but I think Good Old War lost the proper amount of depth. In a close listen to the lyrics “Better Weather” the band, in their three-part harmony, sings the following:

“Our little house at the top of the hill / Was made with love / And four tons of steel”

Yes, the lyrics rhythmically work; they are catchy. But the lyrics also drip with cheesiness that makes it hard for me to muster the strength to listen to the whole track despite the musical goodness behind it. To push the point a little further, in the track “Loud Love” the lyrics might induce vomiting.

“Things are getting dark, they’ve been scaring me / Now the moon’s gone, and I can’t see / Do you remember, when the sun was out? / Light was all around, we climbed a tree / High up in the tree, you made a nest for me”

And just a few lines later, these lyrics appear.

“Will you wait for me underneath the sea? / Can you hold your breath until I’m free?”

The harmonies are really nice, and the melodies are catchy, but the depth certainly isn’t there.

What’s more is the album repeats the same Americana-sounding track over and over, in roughly the same tempo. What makes Come Back as Rain okay for me as a listener, is that the tracks vary enough, and the songs are a fun listen. To end the album, the band plays “Present for the End of the World” which has a new drum beat, but toward the three-minute mark, the singer just repeats the same melody continuously, and needless to say that gets a little old.

I like Come Back As Rain. So what if it’s not the most thoughtful lyrically or the most varied of albums, I’m partial to well-sung harmony. The record also hums along, which gives me the impression that maybe the band knew that it would be a simple record. It’s my fear that despite Good Old War’s growth, the band is setting themselves up to be known as a band with all fluff and no substance. I think if the group continues to grow, this is a band to watch out for. However, if they stick where they’re at now, I would start to avoid them, as they might go the way of the Jonas Brothers (eew), a boy-band craze that few outside the stage of female adolescence enjoyed.

Verdict: 2 out of 5

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Posted by: Andrew Jacobson

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Album Review: Little Hell

Little Hell by City and Colour (Vagrant Records, 2011. 49 minutes)

Dallas Green – who performs under the ironic moniker, City and Colour – first entered the music scene with the post-hardcore Canadian band, Alexisonfire. Having already released two albums as a solo artist – Sometimes and Bring Me Your Love – Green has encountered considerable success in his native Canada. He has won a MuchMusic Video Award, Juno Awards for Alternative Album of the Year and Songwriter of the Year, and has been named artist of the year by Chart magazine.

Modus Operandi

Honestly, my critical modus operandi for music reviewing is based on structures, creative musicianship, and lyrics. If an artist exhibits strength in one area, I am able to enjoy the music. For example, I appreciate Bob Dylan’s lyrics while admitting that the rest of his music remains bland.

When it comes to evaluating Little Hell, Dallas Green produces decent lyrics, keeps a focused structure, but fails badly in its melodic creativity. Put simply, Little Hell contains fabulous verses and horrible choruses.

In Praise of Chorus

For most pop songs, the chorus anchors the composition. Its catchy and repetitive melody sticks in the listeners mind and engrains in them an infectious addiction to the song as a whole. Without a chorus, a pop song has no legs. After multiple months of review as I wavered between enjoyment and disinterest, City and Colour’s latest record falls short because of the chorus.  

Sadly, despite Dallas Green’s angelic voice carrying profound gravitas, Little Hell’s choruses sound verse-like. Without catchy passages, Little Hell never gets off the ground.

Joy and Pain

Lyrically, Dallas Green explores the joy and pain of the smallest aspects of life such as romantic relationships to the big picture issues such as the housing crisis.

Most personally, Green sings of the night terrors his wife experiences in his first single, “Fragile Bird.”

“These cold nightmares / They make her worse for wear / Lost in the dark / She’s got a heavy heart / And when she wakes / In a fragile state / She calls my name / Hoping that I’ll keep her safe”

On a wider level, Green sings during “Natural Disaster,”

“The pipes have long since seized / The windows are all boarded up / There’s no electricity / Flowing through these lifeless veins / Cracks are running down the walls / Where picture frames used to hang / A hint of heartbreak still lingers in the air / And weeds have choked the breathe out of it long ago”

Rock Band

While City and Colour differentiated itself from others by an Americana-influenced folksy songwriting, Little Hell finds Dallas Green plugging in the guitar and creating music with a full band.

With the aforementioned lack of inventive choruses, the full band tunes feel dull and lack the intricacy necessary to stand out amongst an ocean of rock bands.

However, the tune, “The Grand Optimist,” portrays Green in classic form. Exploring the virtues and vices of his parents that he sees present in his life, Green’s voice finds itself rooted in the earthen finger-picking of an acoustic guitar. By far, it is my favorite tune on the record.

Explore the Back Catalog

Little Hell is rather disappointing. Considering the beauty of his previous record, I expected big things from City and Colour’s latest release. Whether by a lack of focus or a lack of creativity, Dallas Green wrote poor choruses and sought innovation in a lazy manner. Therefore, I suggest passing on Little Hell and, instead, listening to Bring Me Your Love.