The String Cheese Incident are releasing a new album, "One Step Closer", due in stores and Amazon shipping queues on June 28th, 2005. Their last studio album was "Outside Inside" in 2003. In the interim, they have been on tour - releasing almost every concert on CD, Kyle Hollingsworth has released a new album, and the Friends of Cheese have grown considerably.
The new album is an introspective collection recorded in the hills of Colorado and produced by Malcolm Burn, who produced Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, among others. He actually co-wrote and played on some of the tracks, enabling a catharsis among the band. For the first time, each member sang and contributed at least two songs. Other collaborators include Robert Hunter and Jim Lauderdale. The album is a build-up to their BIG Summer Classic 2005 tour and they will be playing in Milwaukee at Summerfest (YES!).
The album is a masterpiece in simplicity, minimalism, and rich, powerful lyrics. Listening to it, oftentimes, creates an upswell of emotion that threatens to overwhelm the silence in one's heart with a chorus of joy. It ably captures the recording process, which was not studio-driven, but a more back-to-the-roots, in-the-hills approach.
One of the finest things about the band is the individuality of the voices expressed by each of the band members. It is not often that individual excellence does not eclipse the rest of the band. The band, or perhaps Malcolm Burn, ably manages to allow all the players their time in the sun, without losing any of the consistency and tightness of a good album.
"Give Me The Love" sets the soundstage with a blend of castanets and gentle keyboard notes. It raises a plea for selfless love, for 'the love that knows, all the love there is'. Co-written by John Perry Barlow, Malcolm Burn and Michael Kang, it is a minimalist song, like many on the album.
The next song, "Sometimes A River", is replete with hooks, and wistful realism that life can change course mid-stream. I love the imagery of "You danced in my dream in a white dress/I watched from the top of the stairs/ I woke up looking to find you/But you were not there"
"Big Compromise" is provided by the guitarists Billy Nershi and Jim Lauderdale. Again, the piece is light on orchestration and baroque, relying on a simple melody and soft vocals. Sometimes, breaking up is 'the big compromise'. "There was this couple out on the street/One look could show they were feeling the heat/All I could think as the man turned away was/I wish I could give him the courage to say/You're right, you're right, it's time for the big compromise"
"Silence In Your Head" is balladry at its best. This is so good it puts Coldplay to shame. "The silence in your head/Is louder than a hurricane/The silence in your head/Will never let you go/With the rising of her chest/You feel the shallow breath/Will nothing be the same?/All you give is all you get". Kyle takes the reins, aided by Malcolm Burn in the writing.
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