Cass McCombs: WIT'S END

Cass McCombs
WIT'S END
Domino Records [2011]









Fire Note Says: It may be somewhat a downer of a record but spending quality time with Cass McCombs will lead to nothing but respect!

Album Review:
Do you ever get lonely? Yeah, well so does Cass McCombs and on his new long player WIT'S END you find out that he creates songs to make the time pass. In these 8 creations, McCombs finds his purpose but during his mind wandering they ultimately disappoint him too and slowly just fade away. This is the set up for WIT'S END as McCombs does not spend time worrying about himself or asking for others to have concern for him but rather just questions life and lets the listener eavesdrop on his thoughts. At a running time of 47 minutes, WIT'S END is an undertaking with only 8 songs, as each track has plenty of time to develop, especially on the record's longest track and closer "A Knock Upon The Door", which crosses the 9 minute mark. The beauty in this low key record is that McCombs just strums along and sings his songs. Even though WIT'S END may seem like a buzz kill, McCombs delivery never lets it happen as even at his most dark moments, Cass delivers a slight uplift in his voice that still shines a light in just at the right time. It are these sections of his songs combined with the soft choruses that run through WIT'S END that make it a success and gradually even may work the album itself into one of my favorites this year!

Key Tracks: "Buried Alive", "County Line", "A Knock Upon The Door"

Bands With Similar Fire:
Nick Drake
Leonard Cohen
Tom Waits

Cass McCombs: Catacombs [Fire Note Review 7/6/09]

Cass McCombs Website
Cass McCombs MySpace
Cass McCombs Facebook
Domino Records

-Reviewed by Christopher Anthony