What can we say about 2017? The abject layers and degrees of minutiae. The gargantuan events that spin us in so many contentious directions. It is on these occasions of discontent that we, the great unwashed, need deliverance.
OK, so that opening may seem a bit excessive. Right now living in these challenging times, we need an escape, right? One of the best ways is through the power of music. We certainly seem to live in a realm of Main Stream fluff. An uncaring, pandering Mass Media thinks that they can treat you as clueless, hairless simians’ with money to be fleeced.
However, you tend to seek beyond the norm of the lowest common denominator music fan. My pick for 2017’s Album of the Year is Sleeping Through the War by Nashville’s All Them Witches. This early February release by New West Records might have been lost in seasonal transition.
The band, which is known for their long, intense, psych-rock jams and dreamy imagery have not deviated too far on this record. However, within this massively mesmerizing album, there is growth, tight focus, and a new sense of minimalism. Amazingly cohesive and taunt, Sleeping Through the War is a signal that All Them Witches have crafted a masterpiece. Legendary Nashville producer Dave Cobb (Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton, and Jason Isbell) was in the recording mix and production. Sleeping Through the War, on first listen, reminds the listener of the possibilities that rock & roll can rise above mere storytelling. This album is so lush and expansive that the listener can palpably connect with singer/bassist Charles Parks Jr vocal performance.
There is not a repetitive groove, a reoccurring harmony, or any consistently recognizable pattern to any song. If anything, Sleeping Through the War has eight unique and stylistically different tracks yet retains a familiar Witches sound. To even attempt to define All Them Witches sound is confounding, tricky,and damn near criminal. Are they a rock band, sure. To strictly call them a psych or desert rock band is unfair and abhorrent. Multiple genres and ideas abound which blend into sonic flavors that must be heard to be appreciated.
If you enjoy this album, you are absolutely going to love them live. It seems a rare treat to find a band that sounds better live than their recorded album. Watching them perform in March at the High Noon Saloon in Madison, WI was beyond a treat. I anxiously followed them across the internet as they made their way across Canada and the upper United States. Imagine my dismay, as I read the night before Madison, the group had to cancel the prior nights’ gig due to sickness. Fortunately later that night it was verified that the band would be performing.
When the band hit the stage, it was apparent that the sickness had taken its toll. Though looking a bit gaunt and road weary, the band came out and proceeded to elevate their music to a plane beyond words or explanation. As the show progressed, the fervor heightened, as if they were attempting to expel the viruses from their systems via precise and brutal musicianship, an almost exorcism of sorts. It is performances like this that can turn fans into fervent disciples, and it was a truly astounding and fortuitous experience in every way.
