Thursday , March 28 2024
If you're a fan of Steve Earle, Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, or American roots music in general, you'll very likely dig the new one from the gritty troubadour.

Music Review: Malcolm Holcombe – ‘Another Black Hole’

Malcolm Holcombe Another Black HoleWrinkly-voiced troubadour Malcolm Holcombe is back with a beautifully played new album of songs made of equal parts warm gravel, snakebite acid, and sweet melodies. There’s no easy living in the lyrics. As the narrator of the title track sings, “the radio plays for the happy go lucky / that ain’t my set o’ wheels.”

The best outcome these songs project is acceptance: “the grass is always greener/on my neighbor’s property” sighs the poet of the deceptively bouncy-sounding “To Get By,” with its frustrated refrain, “the power of the youth runs by and by / stuck in a revolving door.”

Driven by Holcombe’s rolling acoustic guitar, Tony Joe White’s ominous electric, Jared Tyler’s multi-instrumental string prowess, and an earthy rhythm section, these songs take on the greatest human troubles of our times, wielding the musical arsenal of Americana, folk, country, and rock. The spoken-word “Don’t Play Around,” the gutsiest track on this gutsy album, indicts income inequality. “Someone Missing” bewails troubled human relationships. Holcombe elevates the grind of hard work and poverty into something mysterious and transcendent in the rough-rocking “Papermill Man.” And he evokes the ruins of war in “Heidelberg Blues,” whose sad simplicity reminds me of Townes Van Zandt; gentle, folky verses sweep chillingly down into unexpected, smoky minor chords.

Malcomb HolcombeHolcombe’s modus operandi may be most starkly revealed in the opening track, “Sweet Georgia.” The contrast between the pastoral tune and the decidedly sour imagery set a sharp-eyed, doubtful tone that persists throughout this concise set of 10 songs, jumping into sharp relief again in the folky, sweet-sounding “Leavin’ Anna,” whose imagery moves from “a delicate flower” to drowning flood victims. Meanwhile, the dreamy acoustic guitar of “September” calls to mind Richard Thompson, while the melody and not entirely decipherable lyrics strike a dusky prog-rock tone that’s dead-to-rights American.

American places appear throughout – Texas, Georgia, Florida, Michigan, Philadelphia. But wherever you live, if you’re a fan of Steve Earle, Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, or American roots music in general, you’ll very likely dig Another Black Hole.

About Jon Sobel

Jon Sobel is Publisher and Executive Editor of Blogcritics as well as lead editor of the Culture & Society section. As a writer he contributes most often to Music, where he covers classical music (old and new) and other genres, and Culture, where he reviews NYC theater. Through Oren Hope Marketing and Copywriting at http://www.orenhope.com/ you can hire him to write or edit whatever marketing or journalistic materials your heart desires. Jon also writes the blog Park Odyssey at http://parkodyssey.blogspot.com/ where he is on a mission to visit every park in New York City. He has also been a part-time working musician, including as lead singer, songwriter, and bass player for Whisperado.

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