Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson - Rattlin' Bones (Album)
I've got to confess that country is the skeleton hanging in my musical closet. Starting with Neil Young and Gillian Welch, country music has gradually encroached on my CD collection making way for the likes of Emmylou Harris’ classic Wrecking Ball and, more recently, the Ramones hick cousins Old Crow Medicine Show. Despite this, Kasey Chambers has never really found favour with me as, contrary to her own suppositions, I’ve always found her 'not gritty enough'. Rattlin’ Bones, the result of a songwriting collaboration between Chambers and Shane Nicholson, peaked my interest; the album represents a serious stab at the darker edges of alt-country and a stark departure to last years pop Carnivale.
On first listen, Rattlin' Bones seems a paint by numbers approach to Appalachian country - lots of biblical references, apocalyptic imagery, wailing winds, rusty nails, old dogs, blackbirds, loss and redemption. The themes and language are common but lacking any real conviction. Where Nick Cave can wield biblical imagery like a burning-eyed prophet strung out in the desert, Nicholson and Chambers go to extraordinary lengths to distance themselves from the metaphors they use. While there are times where this almost deconstructionist approach works, in general, the fire and brimstone lyrics are handled so self-consciously and with such a clichéd bent that it’s difficult to take the music seriously.
Despite the, at times, clunky lyrics, Rattlin’ Bones is not without merit. The stripped down production and simple arrangements throw into stark relief the over-produced Nashville sound that has come to dominate Australian country in recent years. Throughout the album Chambers' and Nicholson's vocals take and hold centre stage with strong melodies and simple harmonies that are, at times, reminiscent of the pairing of Neil Young and Emmylou Harris. At times, however, these elements work against the listener resulting in tracks such as One More Year in which the overt reverb and dark acoustic guitar sounds serve to isolate rather than engender a sense of intimacy. In fact, the mix balance throughout feels slightly inept resulting in overly prominent vocals and guitars that are too often relegated to backup duties behind the much more present banjo's, fiddles and upright bass. Album closer Woe Is Mine is also a fantastic lo-fi banjo number that makes you think the album could have been so much better with a different producer at the helm.
There are snatches of brilliance and tracks The Devil's Inside My Head and Jackson Hole both present a nice twist on the Appalachian theme without getting too laden down by the content. Ultimately, however, these tracks are disappointing as they point in the direction the collaboration might have taken and suggest that there's a whole lot more potential to the Chambers- Nicholson song writing team than is realised on this album.
