Chris Bathgate - A Cork Wake Tale

  by Andrew Carver

published: 12 / 2 / 2008

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Chris Bathgate comes from Ann Arbor, Michigan. A city best known as a tree-laden liberal university town and being the birthplace of Iggy Pop’s musical career, Ann Arbor is also home to a decent folk music scene, of which Bathgate is a prime voice. Bathgate’s music has attracted a few Will Oldham comparisons, but his voice is a far more pleasant instrument than Oldham’s sometimes creaky cords and the music on ‘A Cork Wake Tale’ doesn’t openly reference the ‘Old Weird America’ the way some of Oldham’s does. While earlier albums dipped deper into the well of Americana, ‘Cork’ reaches for a lusher sound. With two handfuls of additional musicians Bathgate turns out a stunning set of tunes, none of which sound exactly alike musically but all of which strike a similar mood, pitched somewhere in the grey sky just before dawn. The piano chords stomp down between neat, plaintive key-strikes on ‘Serpentine’ before Bathgate’s pleasant drawl kicks in. With its touches of cello and nimble drumming the music is full without sounding unduly lush or orchestrated. ‘The Last Parade on Ann St.’ strips things down with Bathgate alternately strumming and picking an acoustic guitar before sideman Matt Jones buries his voice under chiming electric guitar, bass and drums. ‘Every Wall You Own’ jumps out of the gate with a galloping beat while electric piano and honking trumpet adds a soulful edge ‘Smiles Like A Fist’. On ‘Madison House’ – named after residence-come shows venue in Ann Arbor - dissonant metal scrapes echo in the distance between a gently booming double bass and some plucked string instrument. ‘Cold Fusion (Snakes)’ is a starker offering, starting with Bathgate’s voice and lone guitar before filling out with violin and plucked cello. ‘A Flash of Light Followed By’ starts on a similar case but also deploys some overdriven acoustic that edges it into territory similar to Neutral Milk Hotel before it segues into the harder-rocking ‘Restless’, where the sun comes over the hills, if only musically – lyrically the forecast is till for intermittent gloom. It’s a brisk tune, over in under two-and-a-half minutes to make way for ‘The Last Wine of Winter’, a more overcast offering. The album comes to a close with ‘Do What’s Easy’, a presumably sarcastic ode to chain-smoking indolent shut-ins while ‘Cold Press Rail’ starts as a melancholy guitar piece before taking a sudden swerve into a fiddlefest. The final song, ‘Coda (Ann St. Pt. 2)’, brings the album back to its beginnings. ‘A Cork Wake Tale’ is a consistently excellent album. Anyone whose taste in music lands within a stone’s throw of performers like Oldham, Bill Callahan, early Cat Power or Damien Jurado should chase it down.

Track Listing:-

1 Serpentine
2 The Last Parade On An St.
3 Every Wall You Own
4 Smiles Like A Fist
5 Madison House
6 Cold Fusion (Snakes)
7 A Flash Of Light Followed By
8 Restless
9 The Last Wine Of Winter
10 Do What's Easy
11 Cold Press Rail (Bonus Track)
12 Coda (An St. Pt. 2)

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