2023-08-20 19:32:46
In the course of the writers’ and actors’ strike Yellowstone–Actor Ryan Bingham four years after American Love Song again time for his actual profession as a musician – and with Watch Out for the Wolf an EP at the start that once again tries to set new boundaries for the 42-year-old.
Alone in a lonely cabin in the Montana wilderness with sparse equipment (“an old Gibson acoustic guitar, MIDI keyboard, an electric guitar and a mandoline“) recorded, namely the barren and raw, as well as warm and intimate atmosphere born of the reduction Watch Out for the Wolf the real highlight of these 24 minutes, which, with an almost meditative effect, invitingly radiate a distressed consolation and yet offer a strangely homely atmosphere, which, in combination with Bingham’s great voice (which in this setting at times sounds congruent with Brian Fallon), is only too happy to be relied upon lets in
However, the frugality of the approach is also one of the record’s Achilles’ heels: the drum beats of the numbers are all kept simple, but above all infinitely monotonous, run along, know no variation or accents, no tricky finesse – which also contributes to the hypnotic effect, more still has a soporific, boring and frustratingly unloving/dilettante effect, because the attention simply drifts away due to the absolute uniformity and gives the numbers a makeshift aftertaste.
Another crux, however, is the songwriting itself, strays Watch Out for the Wolf but despite its compact playing time, each of its seven songs is longer and more ruminating on than the material is good for.
In the muted scrambling Where My Wild Things Are as well as the forgiving, relaxed spirit of optimism that rises to the horizon This Life For example, uninspired whistling is supposed to replace a real refrain, while the conventional structures counteract the depth effect through their repetition in combination with the superficial rhythm work. Automated works in a very similar way in the dreamy snooze, pondering rounder, meanwhile the bluesy Shivers so dark and gloomy almost apocalyptic Earth-Vibe hat, wo Internal Intermission as a transcendental percussion séance, which is only lately supplied with brazzing electricity, tends towards Duke Garwood: Bingham basically likes the new orientation (which is also beautifully captured aesthetically by the artwork) – but in fact every facet of these exercises indulges in striking flaws.
River of Love turns jogging onto the country highway, but would be noticeably better without the annoyingly weak Uff Zack can rhythm, because not such a thin rock n roll savings rail: Bingham on the keyboard as a drum replacement is simply a small disaster. Devil Stole My Style plucks humming over the drone with abysmal calm, but quickly repeats his pattern and thus seems like an overly detailed interlude: this time Bingham does not get to the point while composing.
What then leaves a half-baked feeling in detail as well as in total, less annoying than with a latent equality, shows the subjective shape curve of the still sympathetic, still so interesting Bingham with the one who squanders his potential Watch Out for the Wolf but constantly downwards and lets the former high flyer arrive in the mediocre range.
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