Son Volt - The Search

I'm rather interested in the different paths the careers of Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy have taken. If, in 1994, you'd asked me to pick which of the two Uncle Tupelo musicians would have the most successful post-Tupelo career, I'd have said "wha? Who the hell are you talking about?" But, if you'd sat me down and played me some of their stuff, I'd have guessed that Jay Farrar was going to be more successful. He was the stronger writer of the two, had the better songs, and seemed like he could sing better.

The first albums by Son Volt and Wilco would seem to bear out this prediction: Trace is a much stronger collection that AM. Both pick up right where their leading songwriters left off on Uncle Tupelo's Anodyne, but Farrar's compositions are just stronger. More interesting. More literate, I guess you could say. There are more shades and variations to Trace than to AM.

The problem, if you can call it that, is the direction each musician took after that first post-Tupelo album. Farrar continued to mine the same mostly-acoustic alt-country vibe on Wide Swing Tremelo and Straightaways, while Tweedy veered off into new sonic territory with the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink Americana of Being There, the sunny pop of Summerteeth, and the experimentation of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born. Farrar seemed to be working himself into a rut and a corner, digging further into his key themes (love lost, social decay, and cryptic who-knows-what) but not coming up with anything new or different to say about them. His lyrics got harder and harder to understand, his music sparser and more understated.

Then came Okemah and the Melody of Riot. A damn fine album, I say. Farrar plugged his electric guitar back in and cranked everything up. The new Son Volt was a tight, expert rock band with slight country feel to it (think Crazy Horse, but much tighter and more precise). Farrar also brought his best batch of songs to the table since Trace. The results were fantastic, even if he wasn't doing anything he hadn't done before in either Uncle Tupelo or Son Volt.

The Search picks up right where Okemah left off, but that's not a bad thing. Farrar kept the same roster of musicians from Okemah for The Search, and the band's had some time on the road to get even stronger and to really contribute some great stuff to the record. And it feels like more of a band effort rather than a Jay Farrar and some other guys record. Each musician has added a distinct flavor or style to the music, dispelling Farrar's tendency for monochromatic songscapes in favor of punchy guitars, pulsing bass, tub-thumping drums, and the occasional hint of slide guitar, piano, or even horns (!) to brighten things up and add extra flavor to the mix.

Farrar's songs are even better than on Okemah. "Slow Hearse" is a dirge-like opener that could've fit right alongside Farrar's work on the Gob Iron side project. "The Picture" is horn-driven country rock, which works significantly better than you'd think. "Satellite" rocks harder than anything Farrar's done since No Depression. This is an album where the ambition to expand the sonic palette meets an excellent clutch of songs, and the results are exceptional.

The Search is a great follow-up to the return to form that was Okemah. Farrar's managed to keep himself busy the past few years, both with Son Volt and side projects (like Gob Iron), and the activity has clearly done him a world of good. Let's hope he keeps up the streak and the level of production.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Son Volt, "The Picture"