dbl LP - black and white vinyl options or CD
WHITE VINYL - PRE-ORDER, EXPECTED EARLY SEPTEMBER
Ryan Davis aint messing around. But then again, when has he ever? Writer, musician, fine artist (that's his pen that makes up his LP front covers), label boss (Sophomore Lounge), festival organiser (Cropped Out in Louisville), all round force of nature in operation at various speeds for two decades who seems to generate goodwill whichever way the wind blows him. Sorry to ask, but what have you done today? Somehow, this second album with an astonishing cavalcade of great friends that comprise the Roadhouse Band seems to turn up the heat a good few degrees more. Everywhere that ink can still be spilt ink is being spilt about how New Threats From the Soul is the album of the year by one of America's greatest current songwriters. Why Davis has caught significant weight right now seems obvious to me - his is the kind of songwriting that simultaneously feels unique and familiar, a new iteration in the continuum of erudite, indie-adjacent Americana that's widely beloved but so rarely improved upon. References to Berman, Callahan, Wagner et al are rife, and while I can see some sense in those associations, I think it misses a beat. Davis' poetic voice is suffuse with a rare mix of lived-in wisdom, bottom-of-the-glass witticisms and void-staring dread that feels perfectly suited to these times. Expect to laugh and swoon, but don't also be surprised if you see the face of death when he sings a line like "I can’t remember the last time the good times got so bad". The band, naturally, are a superstar set, adding texture and light touch to a collection of long-form labyrinthian narratives that never seem to lose their direction, where quite often a nine-minute song can still somehow feel cut short. And while I see New Threats...as a sister record to 2023's equally great Dancing On the Edge (there's a theme in those titles...), this does feel more like a collective effort than before, the arrangements richer, more propulsive, energised by a group understanding. And just wait until you see them perform live! Still, impressive as this all is, there's something eminently approachable and relatable about the overall presentation that speaks to some shared truths, the kind of rare thinking that makes you draw certain songs closer. And so, Ryan Davis: barfly existentialist, sage of our times, or just another one of us worrying about anointed idols and how much the Bloody Mary's now cost? You're gonna enjoy working it out.
FFO: Lambchop, Richard Buckner, Bill Callahan, Purple Mountains
