What does it sound like?:
There is something deeply moving about a pair of men singing together in harmony. Solo, there is a tendency to a display of dominant ego and macho bravado, even aggression. Tender moments can be few. A duo can support each other enough to expose vulnerabilities and overcome flaws and weakness. Fragility becomes a strength. Emotions resonate. A duo can more easily speak to truth, to a baring of the soul. At least until the pair of them fall out.
Joey Ryan plays a 1951 Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar while Kenneth Pattengale performs on a 1954 Martin 0-15 and their voices intertwine sweetly. For this, their fifth album, they’ve added a full band. They like a Country twinge, a weeping pedal steel, a mournful violin and aren’t adverse to strings, a sonorous cello or a saxophone. They even invite guest vocalists, Laura Lou and Logan Ledger, in an attempt to liven things up.
For the most part, the pace is funereal, the tone melancholy. There is much skill and craft to admire, especially on the extended guitar duel for the ten minute long One For The Road. There are moments when the piano could be described as jaunty but only Younger Years is a sprightly foot-tapper, brightened by some nimble finger picking. These boys can play as well as they can sing. The rest of the musicians are very fine indeed but The Milk Carton Kids USB includes coiled duetting acoustic guitars. The broader sound palette has diluted their character.
The lyrics concern heartbreak, loss, the state of the nation and death, your average Country fare. In real life, poor Pattengale has recovered from a cancer and broken up a long term relationship. The music meanders purposefully beneath the dulcet vocals, trying to find an elusive melody. And that’s the problem with the album. It’s a tip of a Stetson to Simon and Garfunkel but without a truly decent tune. The finale is the title track and the most Simon-esque, both in style and in the character of the voice, a rueful Paul Simon looking back with some regret. It’s a strong finish but, instead of inspiring a flick to start again with track one, it had me reaching out for an album made in 1973.
Each track on All The Things That I Did and All The Things That I Didn’t Do is very lovely. They will sound good on a playlist rubbing shoulders with songs by other Folk/Americana artists. As an album, the twelve tracks hang together nicely but listening to the whole in one sitting is a drudge and any emotional resonance quickly gets lost.
What does it all *mean*?
Band names are important. The Milk Carton Kids are struggling to overcome a wet and drippy image before a note is even heard. Still, they have resilience. They are growing and developing. They need stronger material and to find a way to showcase their guitar playing in a wider band setting. I’m sure they’ll work things out.
Goes well with…
A solemn mood.
Release Date:
Might suit people who like…
Beautiful harmonies, nifty fingers on a fretboard and the calm, gentle waters in the shallow end of Americana.
Tiggerlion says
The most representative song is I’ve Been Loving You
retropath2 says
Clever stuff; I thought you were praising it in the intro. They look a bit drippy too.
Mavis Diles says
They’re like Gillian Welch and David Rawlings with no Gillian, and an extra David, doing Simon & Garfunkel.
Tiggerlion says
Welch and Rawlings draw from a much deeper emotional well and their relationship feels complex and intense. Their albums can also struggle to find a tune but, even so, they are a gripping listen.
Carolina says
“Might suit people who like…
Beautiful harmonies, nifty fingers on a fretboard and the calm, gentle waters in the shallow end of Americana”
You have summed me up to a Tee, Tig, which is why I bought the album yesterday! I listened to three tracks in a row and then changed to something else so I get your point about listening to the whole thing in one go not being so satisfactory. Still I think the single tracks will give me a lot of pleasure. I think it has been a good development them incorporating a band for this album after their previous double act, enjoyable though that was too,
Happy Birthday by the way (I know that’s on another thread but am multitasking.) Hope celebrations are continuing over the weekend!
Tiggerlion says
Thanks, Carolina. Good to see you on the blog and to hear you are engrossed in new music. Next listen, start with the last track. It’s very lovely. I think you might find yourself listening to it three times in row.
😚
Lodestone of Wrongness says
Just wondering Tiggs – what do you do with that five minutes a day when you are not listening to and/or reviewing music? I am writing a Bargepole-sponsored review, I’ve had the download for a couple of weeks now and the first paragraph is going swimmingly.
Tiggerlion says
I watch football and Formula 1.
Moose the Mooche says
He’s got these things called headphones. They’re brilliant because you don’t have to get the approval of other people before you listen to something.
Lodestone of Wrongness says
So these headphones – they’re like on his ears 24/7?
Moose the Mooche says
When he’s not in his Mobile Sound Fidelity Lab car, yes.
I’m guessing all this, it’s not like I’ve been stalking him or anything. I mean… why would anybody do that?
Tiggerlion says
I have three pairs of headphones and two pairs of earphones.
Lodestone of Wrongness says
Those are the least surprising facts ever. When he’s in the Mobile Sound Fidelity Lab car does he always wear driving gloves? And isn’t your restraining order, Mooche, still in place?
Tiggerlion says
I am here, right in front of you, you know.
Lodestone of Wrongness says
Where? I can see Moose but…
Moose the Mooche says
If you can see me I can see you
If you can see me I can see you