One of the most frustrating things about watching and listening to Alejandro Rose-Garcia's music over the last couple years was the contrast between his debut album, and his live performance.
High quality live performances of his songs are all over the internet. Watching Alejandro, better known by his stage name Shakey Graves, jam in these settings is absolutely exhilarating. The dynamics, tones and patterns were subject to change at the drop of a hat, always vying for its audiences attention. In contrast, his first album Roll The Bones suffered from awkward production, but was overall carried by the strength of its musical content.
If you're a Shakey Graves fan, like I am, you'll be happy to hear that this problem has been soundly addressed in his latest outing, And The War Came. It seems that the decision was made, and wisely so, to play into Alejandro's powerful strengths as a musician and performer. The sound of this album is full and focused, demonstrating that this Texan has found his footing.
And The War Came showcases a wide range of styles, ranging from laid back folky tracks, like Only Son and House of Winston, to the heavy swaggering blues found on The Perfect Parts.
Some of the strongest tracks come in the form of three songs featuring Emse Patterson. In an interview, Shakey Graves refers to their collaboration as 70-esque country. In some ways, these tracks seem to conjure up the ghost of Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris's classic tracks. The creative chemistry between the two of them is undeniable. On Dearly Departed, Emse and Alejandro's voices play in and out of each others, swinging easily over the grooves of drums and guitar.
And let's get one thing out of the way, the rhythm section on this album is fantastic. It both provides a back bone to the tracks, but also fleshes out some of the aural spaces that felt empty on his previous outing. There's no better example of this than on The Perfect Parts. It's strong rhythm drives and directs the screams, heavy chords and dissonant picking powerhouse of a rocker.
Some songs throw back to his older material. Pansy Waltz and If Not For You treats the listeners to quirky guitar passages, and some classic Shakey Graves crooning.
This album does suffer in places. For example, Family and Genus feels slow and tired, as does House of Winston to a degree. Though not bad songs, they lack the magnetism of the rest of the record.
Shakey Graves has been a refreshing dose of talent, sincerity and work ethic in the folk/Americana tradition. With bookings at some of the biggest music festivals around this summer, his career is sure to take off. Alejandro Rose-Garcia couldn't have created a better album to take him around the country or the world than this one.
