Counting Crows - Somewhere Under Wonderland (Album Review)
Monday, 15 September 2014
Written by Simon Ramsay
Let's get the time honoured question that greets every new Counting Crows release out of the way, shall we? No, 'Somewhere Under Wonderland' isn't as good as their revered debut album, 'August And Everything After'. It is, though, a superbly written, exquisitely performed slice of infectious Americana that's easily the best thing they've done in years.
It's no secret that the calibre, mood and emotional bent of a Crows album is dictated by the mental state of singer Adam Duritz. The vocalist has long been battling a form of dissociative disorder that makes him feel like the world around them isn't real. It has, by his own admission to Classic Rock magazine, left him straddling the line “between fine and despair”.
It's therefore great to report that after 2008’s angry, unhappy and confused 'Saturday Nights And Sunday Mornings', this new effort finds Duritz focused and bursting with positive, creative energy.
The band have seemingly been recharged by 2012’s covers album, 'Underwater Sunshine', and 'Somewhere Under Wonderland’ feels like a sequel to that record. It retains the same sense of fun, passion and interactive zeal.
Epic opener Palisades Park takes you on an eight minute journey through lost friendships, cross-dressing experimentation and boyhood nostalgia and, immediately, it’s clear this record is a winner. Nodding to Bruce Springsteen's Jungleland, Duritz's narrative drives the track while it seamlessly moves from freight train rock through low key piano crooning to swooning romanticism at its bittersweet conclusion.
There's a helium-heeled spring in the step of many tracks, with the breezy Earthquake Driver a bit of quirky, catchy Americana and the swaying electric country twang of Scarecrow providing a swelling gale of organ textures and heartland harmonies.
They also flex their rock muscles on Elvis Went To Hollywood and Dislocation. The former's giddy, insistent beat and slicing guitars soundtrack a satirical swipe at contemporary luddites, while the latter amps up the rootsy rock ‘n' roll quota as Duritz claims: “I was an alien In Utero, somehow missed New Mexico. Fell to earth in Baltimore, I know.”
Duritz has always penned pretty abstract lyrics, but where they've sometimes veered into indulgent rambling, on this album his wordplay is mostly pin sharp. You won't always understand his oblique train of thought, but you always feel what he's singing.
Take the gorgeously subtle God Of Ocean Tides, a poetic, unstructured yarn held together by delicate melodic embellishments and instrumental nuances that highlight how adept and sensitive the band are at complementing their leader's emotional storytelling.
The closing, piano-led number, Possibility Days, is more direct but no less moving, recalling that moment when you know something promising is slipping away. With its beautifully sad sense of loss, it's a nice companion piece to past favourites Raining In Baltimore and A Long December.
With nine songs clocking in at just over 40 minutes, this album is paced to perfection and very easy to consume. It should probably come with a health warning as once you start devouring it, you won't be able to stop.
Counting Crows Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu October 30 2014 - BOURNEMOUTH O2 Academy Bournemouth
Sat November 01 2014 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy Birmingham
Sun November 02 2014 - GLASGOW O2 Academy Glasgow
Tue November 04 2014 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE O2 Academy Newcastle
Wed November 05 2014 - LEEDS O2 Academy Leeds
Fri November 07 2014 - MANCHESTER O2 Apollo
Sat November 08 2014 - LEICESTER De Montfort Hall
Mon November 10 2014 - LONDON Roundhouse
Tue November 11 2014 - LONDON Roundhouse
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