By Nick Beaudoing
When my vinyl copy of Richard Buckner’s latest release arrived in the mail, I knew the rest of the work day was shot. A home office offers every distraction imaginable, but music is at the top of the list. “Surrounded” (Merge Records) is the perfect excuse to crank the stereo and stare out the window.
In a year that has seen album sales hit record lows, Buckner is still making them in the strictest sense of the word. Every recording is comprised of songs that seem to have been written during a sustained blast of inspiration. The tracks are sequenced with care, and as with his live show, one often flows immediately into the next, without pause.
Fans of 2011’s “Our Blood” will be drawn to the gorgeous title track, which opens the album with a fingerpicked acoustic guitar and the words, “you just won’t lie down / even closing your eyes / you can’t let it go / surrounded inside”.
What is he talking about? Buckner is a long way from the more straightforward heartbreak songs of his 1994 debut, “Bloomed”. With each subsequent release he has shed alt-country baggage in favor of more abstract storytelling and indie rock flavors.
For the uninitiated, the combo of Buckner’s ultra-relaxed, whispered tenor and cryptic lyrics will make for demanding listening. Anyone looking for an album of sing-along choruses to serve as a soundtrack to driving around town will be bored to tears. This is an intimate affair, with very personal lyrics buttressed by instruments played by the same guy (liner notes: “All racket was made by me in my room”). The songs work best when the album is played in full, from start to finish.
For longtime fans – myself included – this is exactly where we want Buckner to be. “Surrounded” features many of his trademark ingredients: steady strumming in alternate tunings and synth intros/outros. But the real surprise is the smooth quality of his typically gruff singing voice. From the harmonies of Side A’s closer, “Portrait”, to Side B’s standout track, “Go”, Buckner sings beautifully. For an artist who once claimed to have taken up smoking to alter the quality of his voice, Buckner can still sell songs based on vocals alone.
Whereas the recording process for “Our Blood” reads like fuel for every musician’s night terrors (stolen laptop, equipment malfunctions, murder investigation) ,“Surrounded” is clearly the fruit of focused woodshedding. The end result is a far cry from Buckner’s earlier breakup records; rather, this is the perfect companion to a long, brooding afternoon and the question, “What am I doing with my life?”
Follow Sun209.com on Twitter at @Sun209com.