Mason Jennings - Boneclouds
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Mason JenningsEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2006-05-16
Music Label: Sony
Soundtracks:
- Be Here Now
- Gentlest Hammer
- If You Ain't Got Love
- Some Say I'm Not
- Moon Sailing On The Water
- Jackson Square
- If You Need A Reason
- Which Way Your Heart Will Go
- Where The Sun Had Been
- Jesus Are You Real
Free Music Notes for Boneclouds
Free Music Review: It's fantastic, and I'll tell you why...
Hit: 5 Stars
While his email newsletters and my own general anticipation collectively built my anxiety to a boiling point, I held off on being overly excited. Perhaps it was the Glacial Pace signing or the expired look on his face at the last couple of shows I tailed him to see, but I honestly didn't know what to expect a man who's permanently attached to my history, my youth, and my soul. That said I didn't get overly excited. Hell, I didn't even open up to it at first.
My initial impressions went something like: "It sounds overproduced," then "this is unfriendly." However, after opening my own selfish "this-isn't-Birds Flying Away," and "I'm-stuck-my-loyalty-to-the-past" doorways, I have let the album's melodic uncertainty and pure human sincerity consume me.
Here's where I tell you why you should get it and love it: It has everything you want and expect from Mason. "Be Here Now" is it's own calling to you as a listener. Beyond his explorations of love, think of it as a reassuring urge that you should be here now--so shut up and listen. "Gentlest Hammer" works much like "Empire Builder," a fun filler between musical crescendos that you find yourself humming at the most awkward of moments soon after.
Then there's "If You Ain't Got Love," a song truly reflective of the Mason all the die-hards held on to. The title itself currently reminds of the power preached in "United States Global Empire," that "freedom's the ability to feel love for everyone." However, on Boneclouds Mason moves love into the realm of parenting, something many of us surely overlook in our quest to conquer romance.
My current favorite, unbelievably, is "Some Say I'm Not." I already have visions of live-performance explosiveness with this song, something I hope holds true. I feel it has the power of his earlier concert favorites "The Mountain" or the "The Light." Lyrically, he also brings the "God is everything/God is nothing" duality directly to the surface. Musically, the song has a progressive beat and rough switch from the fingerings in the previous track. It holds a significant place on the album, as again we transition between the overarching themes he presents.
"Moon Sailing on the Water" and "Jackson Square" are familiar in sound and nature, and examine human relations and the adversities within. The piano in "Moon" is extremely subtle, yet absolutely necessary, and the breakdown is bound together effectively by four lonely keys.
"If You Need a Reason" is another standout track. From the insightful opening, "Got so lost that I went to church / Sorry God but you made it worse," Mason puts love back in our face with a romantically reassuring chorus. Early on, I found myself immediately drawn to the simple lyrics and familiar structure--no doubt because I was looking for a Mason I had always known and loved. I still enjoy the track for these reasons, for without it I'm not sure how much I would have devoted to the album as a whole based on that first shaky run-through. It is Boneclouds' "Darkness Between Fireflies;" its "Stars Shine Quietly;" its "Sorry Signs on Cash Machines;" its "Keepin' it Real."
"Which Way Your Heart Will Go" is like "Gentlest Hammer," in that it bridges between high points on the album. It should not be seen as a lull, however, and could evolve into the sleeper song for many. It asks more important questions, like "Where would I be right now / if all my dreams had come true?" again urging us to Be Here Now. It is poetic as well, including a strong "s" alliterated sequence that blooms in about the fourth or fifth listen. It is reminiscent of "Fourteen Pictures" for its innocent qualities and friendly musical backdrop.
While production may have slammed a zillion sounds into "Where the Sun Had Been," I find myself drawn to its imperfections (listen closely to the gaps prior to the "looking up at where the sun had been" repeats). Here, I feel Mason knows what he's doing and wants us to at least appreciate the progression. Some call the track "a throw away," but I find comfort in it just like I found comfort in "Godless." You can't slam the man for going different places. I've also read that Boneclouds was whittled from some thirty songs. I find its inclusion very relevant, both for its content and its reflection of Mason's flexibility and artistic direction.
"Jesus Are You Real" speaks for itself, and does so in such a comfortably reassuring style that it's easy to nod along with questions. Since it speaks for itself, I'll quit there.
Overall, the album is fantastic. Perhaps I'm naïve in refusing to naysay anything Mason, but I truly feel that this a great place for him musically and for us as listeners. It is simple, real, even common in the sense that not a dressed up metaphor--not that Mason ever was, but it's nice to know that he's still himself after moving in with Isaac Brock. It is the actuality that Mason has always given us. What else can the devoted Jennings follower or the new fan arrival ask for but plain and honest uncertainty about one's life, faith, and love, and the resulting inherent certainties of that life, faith, and love?
Boneclouds Poster
After four independent label releases, Mason Jennings became one of the first signings to the major subsidiary label of Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock. His naturally articulated, mid-range vocals bring to me the equally inviting Donovan, especially on "Some Say I'm Not," with its exotic rhythmic bed. The songs are full of a sort of optimistic searching, both romantic and spiritual. With the songs anchored by a first person vantage point, Jennings' friendly timbre makes for an utterly believable narrator. The arrangements are spare, but smartly constructed. The gentle piano flourishes and evocatively descending chords of "Moon Sailing on the Water" help to cast longing and dislocation in the hopeful glow of the restorative powers of the natural world. These ten songs by Jennings are like chamber music, each one given its own quietly powerful setting. --David GreenbergerFolk Music CDs
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