Dan Michaelson – Sudden Fiction (Edition/s)
4/5
By: Jonathan Falcone
Dan Michaelson has always been gruff in tone, yet his unique voice has often sailed across unusual tides. His voice is slow and low, surprisingly Sudden Fiction is the first album that runs in harmony – i.e., slow and low.
In his previous band, Absentee, his voice sat atop a country bob, punctuated with thrashes of loud guitar. The band was a real-time mash up of styles and in this mix Dan's vocals often lost out. They sounded too alien.
Even previous solo albums bounced a touch against their will. Admittedly they started to play footsy with his natural Cohen/Smog timbre, but this is the first album to go above the knee. It goes plump into the groin and is far and away the best thing Michaelson has put out.
‘Breaking Falls' has a video (see below) that’s more at home in a fetishism exhibition at a modern art gallery than decorating Dan and his piano. A slow motion reel of buxom ladies inflating and popping balloons is a confusing contrast of melancholy and testosterone. The seductive balloon-kicking feels sad, odd and pointless. There could be a big statement on nihilism here, or it could be a joke, and it's certainly a no-budget video.
More than anything, Sudden Ficiton is an open and honest record. There is no indie approach anymore. There’s not even a need to jig with half an eye on radio play, though justice would see Michaelson receive his heaviest rotations yet. Sudden Fiction is anxiety, regret and love, tumbled out with a piano and guitar.
It asks questions too, “If love’s a balloon, why does it look sad?” is asked in ‘Knots’, “If love is on the moon, what am I suppose to do?” For the most part, Michaelson frankly decrees love to be lost, unattainable, and wonders why. The oldest lament is a new topic for Michaelson to engage in, at least this frankly.
There are moments of momentum; the chorus of ‘I Knew We’d Clear’ even builds… slightly. “I left without a tear/For the woman beside me/I knew we’d clear” has Michaelson getting it right for once, the warmth in the slide guitar softens the edges of his usually cold baritone. Yet still “the sun coming out/just to shadow you” sees nature disrupting a moment of rare contentment.
For as long as Michaelson has made music he has, knowingly or not, portrayed himself as the Eeyore/Droopy Dog emotional paradox, singing up but sounding down. Now his voice and music align. As a result Sudden Fiction proves an intensely satisfying album despite being a fleeting eight-song affair. For those familiar with Michaelson, then chime of his voice against iced piano notes and slowly churning guitar strums will feel like a natural, therapeutic home for his lamenting. For fresh ears there will be something enchanting about this husky Chet Baker singing slowly, making the sound of disappointment an intriguing friend, and one you'd be more than happy to chew over their woes with.
Breaking Falls from dan michaelson on Vimeo.
Artists in this article: Dan Michaelson & The Coastguards
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