Jeffrey Lewis falls into the category of recording
artists who are so singular in their approach to music that the question eventually arises whether we need
another album. To take the law of diminishing returns, in a frankly ludicrous direction, before as much as
hearing a note of the sixth album (15th if you include collaborations such as The Bundles with Kimya Dawson — who provided
the soundtrack for much of the independent Canadian film Juno), I’m wondering if there’s a place in my
collection for another album.
I barely dare apply a
label to his music, but it has been variously described as acoustic punk, folk and (cringe) nu-folk or
antifolk. Often with little more than an acoustic guitar and skiffle drums, the 35-year-old has let his
lyrics shine through. And what lyrics they are. The songs are densely lyrical, bursting with ideas and wit,
fitting dozens of verses in a three-minute pop song. It can be an exhausting listen. For just a hint of his
skill, look at my favourite YouTube clip of all-time and his “composition”
The
Complete History of Punk on the Lower East Side from 1950 to 1975, (www.youtube.com/watch?v=88QLxLHQW_M). Here, art, storytelling, and songwriting
clash in mesmerizing style (beware, includes profanity). From this clip alone, I then decided to buy
everything he had done. OK — watch that and come back in 8.24…
… Good eh? So on to
A Turn
in the Dream-Songs. It’s a Jeffrey Lewis record, no doubt. His band, The Junkyard isn’t credited like on
2009’s Em Are I. Perhaps as a consequence, Dream-Songs is more paired down and lacks the punk punch
of the previous album and the even more recent Bundles collaboration.
His wit is as sharp as
ever. In the self-effacing “Cult Boyfriend” he admits his “cult status” — although something he no doubt
revels in. “I may not be in magazines with a heartthrob face/But in a few devoted hearts I’ve found a strong
fan base.”
A couple of songs that are
written for a single person (‘You have to XXXXX, you should XXXX, then you said: XXXX’) can get a little
wearing — “How Can It Be”, “Time Trades”, “Try It Again”, “When You’re By Yourself” — not as
inventive lyrically as he can be. It sounds like a jilted Jeffrey to me. Yet musically, they are often more
complex than previous offerings. But when he is a little more off-kilter, breaking the rules, in songs such
as “So What I’d I Couldn’t Take It”, and “To Go and Return” — folk with some proper noise, he
effortlessly ranks as one of the greatest songwriters in jejethe North America. The finale, “Reaching”, he
sings with Annie Hart from Au Revoir Simone — it’s a gorgeous ending to a fine
album.
He's going to remain a
cult boyfriend, however.
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