In the digital era it’s refreshing to come across an artist with a mythical quality, whether self-created or not. As soon as the darkly comic tones of Love Thine Enemy come on you know that you’re listening to the enigmatically laidback Cass McCombs and that shit is about to go down. On the aforementioned opener he talks of hating a lack of sincerity, then turns around and makes an attempt to add some himself. The San Francisco native is known for being an outsider, operating on the fringes of the music business. Believe it or not though there is more optimism compared to last album Wit’s End, from earlier this year. Being a recluse affords the opportunity to be prolific apparently.
From The Same Thing, with it’s The Doors-esque tinges, to Meet Me At The Mannequin Gallery, McCombs sounds like a well-travelled author who just crawled out of a whiskey bottle. None of the above mentioned cuts are able to match the tragic beauty of his previous ballad County Line, but similarly-styled melancholy ballads like The Living Word have their own resonance. Other artists could be found guilty of wringing their songs for all possible sentimentality. While McCombs and some of the efforts on Humour Risk may be guilty on that count the aura of authenticity sets it apart.
Best Track: Mariah (Sketch)
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: 69 Lovesongs THE MAGNETIC FIELDS, For The Sake Of The Song, TOWNES VAN ZANDT
In A Word: Nourishing
