The Search is the second release since Jay Farrar reformed Son Volt with new members back in 2004. He told Daily Camera, “This time around I had a lot more songs to work with — there were 22 that we recorded in the studio — so I think just instinctively we were going for more variety this time around. And certainly the addition of Derry deBorja on keyboards has added a different texture and sort of allowed things to move in different directions.”
They achieved their goal, matching the emotions of the lyrics with the music accompaniment. This is evident from the album’s first track, “Slow Hearse.” It opens with a plaintive piano line and the refrain of “Feels like driving around in a slow hearse” repeated. Joining the mix are odd studio sound effects signaling the band is going to take the listener on a magical mystery tour through the studio.
A sax and trumpet herald the next track, “The Picture,” further punctuating the band’s move away from its alt-county beginning. It’s a look at a world gone wild, “Hurricanes in December – earthquakes in the heartland,” although it doesn’t seem that different from ours with the line “When war is for profit and profit is war”. The journey may seem dark, but the destination will be worth it if mercy is found waiting.
“Underground Dream” has a big expanse of strings that augment the sound with a great melody. According to Farrar, “The lyric acknowledges living in a world of conservative cowboy ideologies.” “Circadian Rhythm” has a great backwards guitar loop periodically running throughout. It sounds like something is stuck as it repeats, a perfect aural representation of the indecision the narrator “can’t stand anymore.”
“Adrenaline and Heresy” is a piano ballad, reminiscent of solo John Lennon, about a slow break-up, where people have “been hanging on for so long”. The breaking point is reached and made known by brutal, gut-wrenching lines, “She said I still love you/ I don’t know if I want to spend the/ rest of my time with you.” Yet, the narrator takes it well. The drums kick in hard at the song’s close, like a march, as the refrain “High on adrenaline/ It’s a new day” is repeated. Obviously, the narrator wasn’t surprised by the outcome and is ready to finally move on to the next adventure.
Article comments
1 - Connie Phillips
Congrats! This article has been forwarded to the Advance.net websites and Boston.com.