The Coen brothers’ film, “O Brother Where Art Thou” was responsible for reintroducing depression-era music back into the North American subconscious. Often called pre-war blues or “dustbowl blues” by some, this truly American genre of music is dominated by fingerpicked guitar and balanced by thin, yet powerful vocals. This simple music conveys so powerfully the experience of absolute sorrow and despair that was prevalent in the Great Depression, yet in their own melancholy way, these songs are uplifting as if reminding the listener that from here, things can only get better. On Hither and Thither you get forty minutes of true American gothic divided into twelve songs. While initially, they seem to be such utter uncomplicated simplicity, putting me in the mind of a really laid back Squirrel Nut Zippers. Certainly not toe-tapping melodies by any stretch, though after listening closely, Smaldone’s lyrics paint chiaroscuro portraits of spirit-crushing circumstances of lost love, livelihoods yet they shine with an indefatigable sense of hope that even in these gray Vancouver days can’t seem to obscure.
The very lack of production on this album is what I find utterly perfect about it. Seemingly recorded in a wooden shack in some dry and lonely place without a single 808 drum track or rip-off sample of some vintage melody, this is an utter original work of art. Smaldone lets us act as voyeurs, peering through a dusty lace curtain at an act of intimacy between a man, a guitar and his music.
Buy this album and listen to it, seriously.
