As I mentioned over on my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/rotgm/), Lincoln Durham's latest album, Revelations of a Mind Unraveling, dropped on the 25th. It's been about three years since his sophomore effort, Exodus of the Deemed Unrighteous, and four years since his debut album, The Shovel vs. The Howling Bones.
First, some more background. Lincoln Durham is a native Texan who tours as a one-man band. His style on his previous albums was a vigorous blend of olden southern Americana. Durham's music is as much founded in bluegrass as in blues, and his records are filled with fiddles, banjos and mandolins accenting his powerful yet loose guitar playing. His first album, The Shovel vs. The Howling Bones, captured my with its stomping riffs and tasty slide guitar. On the other hand, his sophomore effort, Exodus of the Deemed Unrighteous, put Durham's vocals front and center. Durham had sounded like a seasoned blues singer on his debut; his second album saw him attack his microphone like a fire and brimstone preacher. His performance was dynamic, soulful, and one of the only times I've seen spoken word passages actually benefit an album.
So, how does his latest album measure up? Revelations of a Mind Unraveling confused me before I even pushed play for the first time. The album artwork was such a stark departure from the others. Here it is put next to the previous two.
Confusion about the sudden palette change aside, Revelations is one heck of an album. Like Exodus, it's rather short at just shy of 32 minutes. It's by far the darkest and most experimental of his albums so far. The balladry of Shovel and Exodus is kept to a bare minimum here. There are certainly no love songs this time, either. Instead, we get such cheery numbers as "Rage and Fire and Brimstone," "Bones," "Rusty Knife," "Noose," and the uncomfortably titled "Bleed Until You Die." Yikes. The most upbeat track is the gleeful pagan bluegrass of "Gods of Wood and Stone."
The guitar work, though not the emphasis of the album, has a noticeably more modern edge to it at times. If anything, it sounds at times like the blues-meets-punk assault favored by the White Stripes, although with a considerably more traditional approach. As expected, Durham knocks the vocals out of the park with a mastery and fervor that simply can't be topped. The spoken word sections make a comeback, although considerably more blended with the sung passages than on Exodus. They're also kept to a relative minimum. Durham isn't content to simply tell you stories here like he was on Exodus. Instead, he sells his lyrics with positively manic delivery and righteous conviction.
It's not quite like his previous albums, but once again Durham delivers the goods. I can safely recommend this to fans of Exodus of the Deemed Unrighteous, fans of the White Stripes and anyone interested in hearing new takes on classic American genres. You won't regret it.
Until next time. Guitarman, out.
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