Friday, March 27, 2009
Tim Easton- Porcupine
Easton’s latest, Porcupine is different though, A fourteen song cycle that doesn’t so much pick up where Ammunition left off as it does light off all that Ammunition and watch it blow. This is not the Tim Easton who crooned his way through “Next To You”. This is the Tim Easton that commanded the stage with bands like The Whipsaws, Two Cow Garage and Rosavelt.
Porcupine opens with a count off and then a rockabilly riff with Easton laying lyrics over the top. More in line with his release Special 20, the lyrics end up in a duel with the guitar that plays out loose.
“Broke my Heart” is more like Ammunition. The newlywed Easton seems to be more focused on relationships, going so far as to quote in “Broke my Heart” that ‘’there are only two things left in the world; just love and the lack thereof” . Tim seems to have resigned himself to love when he says “you know you can’t run away this time.” This song is an example of where all the worlds of Tim Easton come together the rocking Special 20, the experimental Truth About Us, the and the angry Ammunition. All in one space, Easton is at the top of his game.
The title track is a greasy dirge with an ominous bass line and a vocal delivered through a wall. There is a surf guitar solo in the background that feels more David Lynch than Gidget. Tim Easton’s take on dark achieves it aim. “Stormy’ starts with that Duster Romweber feel too. It is on a track like this that you come to realize what a treat it is to hear Easton with a full band. That guitar picking solo act is fulfilling but this is something more. This record brings what Levon Helm would have referred to as “an adult portion” of rock and roll.
“Get What I Got” is another bluesy Easton classic. When he is at his best in a song like this, there are few peers. He slices through lyrics and the guitars are unrelenting. They are like stories told over a campfire by Gorf Murlix. Easton has always been a good guitar player but this record puts him into the category of great. There is the re-inclusion of “Baltimore” for no discernible reason but it’s a great song so it’s welcome in the mix.
In the years since Tim moved west, he seems to have lost a bit of that transient nature that characterized his earlier work. A few songs here send the signal that his wanderlust may be in retreat. Take “Northbound “, a love song to the Northern States. He name drops a few but the gist is that when Tim found Alaska, he truly found himself. He found fellow songwriters who shared his vision. That elusive moment where I saw him on the train tracks; that moment is anything but elusive. His home in Joshua Tree seems to have become his muse and while he loves to play live the theme here seems to be more grown up and at home with himself. “Goodbye Amsterdam” seems to be the follow up to “Dear Old Song and Dance”. Both songs are Easton’s take on the life not of a traveler, but a lover of the road. To the singer, giving up a lover is the same as giving up the cities that inspire him. Sometimes you have to make a choice and in “Goodbye Amsterdam” Tim makes his.
Porcupine is Tim Easton’s finest record since Special 20. It summons the front man in him and lets the guitars do the talking. If Ammunition was Tim Easton’s soft political side, then Porcupines is his muscle flexing side and it should not be ignored.
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