Chris Luedecke from Canada is actually a middle-aged man but has presumably adopted the 'old man' moniker to distance himself completely from the world of teenage angst.
On these fourteen songs he celebrates the mature country comforts of a stable relationship, kids and a nice home.
There are songs about doing the shopping, disposing of diapers or musing on his parental duties; mundanities which take the listener about as far away from the decadent sex, drugs and rock'n'roll lifestyle as its possible to get. Very domestic, not very eccentric.
On the one hand, one might argue that this is more in tune with everyday reality but at the same time these topics don't exactly make for a thrilling listening experience.
The album was recorded in the cabin in the snowy Nova Scotia woods and is the third collaboration between Luedecke and contemporary bluegrass artist Tim O’Brien The two last worked together on the 2012 release, Tender is the Night,
The love songs are flowery declarations of devotion wherein his wife is compared to Vemeer's The Girl In The Pearl Earring ("You can't fake a work of art") and, in The Briar And The Rose, he remembers the process of wooing and wedding her: "She became my bride, we had children, we got tired".
|
Whenever he goes away, he can't wait to get back to her: "I will kiss your rosy cheeks when I return again" (Brightest On The Heart). It's all very touching, I suppose, but also as mushy as a Hallmark greetings card!
In the The Early Days and Now We Got A Kitchen, Luedecke reflects on how time flies and the level of wisdom he imparts doesn't get much deeper than this.
His dreams are equally modest:"I wish I had a camper, one with real good tyres" he declares on Wait A While.
I found myself turned off by the syrupy nature of these bright but banal banjo-based ditties which quickly left me craving for something more profound or harder edged.
Old Man Luedecke's website
|
