Composed of the odd duo of Belgian Joe West and Texan LaDon Drummond, The Westerners create an album as diverse as their geographical origins with Beautiful Departed. The album combines blues and country sounds with strange partners such as synth, accordion and English horn. The unique composition of the tracks makes Beautiful Departed unlike anything you’ve heard before.
The Westerners open the album with “Faith.” The song gives you a feel for The Westerners style of turning country sounds upside down. “Faith” features stretched-out guitar riffs played by guest guitarist Snaporaz that definitely give the track a country edge. However, the droning bass line of the song is more indicative of shoe-gazer rock. Throw a wild gospel vocal breakdown in the mix from guest John Lathan that compliments the Stevie Nicks-sound that Drummond’s voice has and you’re left with a brilliant, genre-defying song.
The Westerners continue to go against logical sounds with “Shadow.” You’ve probably never heard synth, marimba and grungy guitar sounds all in the same song, but “Shadow” proves this odd meld of sounds to be hypnotic.
Beautiful Departed adds unique elements to The Westerners’ sound on almost every track. The brooding synth of “Shadow” contrasts greatly from the folksy, acoustic guitar and accordion driven “My Banshee.” The constant contrast from track to track helps make Beautiful Departed an addictive album.
Later, The Westerners even strip their sound way down to create the heart-breaking minimalist ballad “Samsara.” Beautiful Departed is dedicated to the memory of West’s daughter Laura, and the spoken-word vocals of “Samsara” show the pain of his loss. Meanwhile, the lone guitar melody of the track echoes the loneliness expressed in the vocals well.
One of Beautiful Departed’s most clever songs is “Funky Buddhist.” As you might expect, the track is full of Buddhist chanting and funky bass lines. The Westerners again throw you for a loop, injecting a bluegrass melody into the song. This random change in style defines The Westerners and “Funky Buddhist” demonstrates their pleasing experimentation as well as any song on the album.
The Westerners may be hard to place in one genre, but Beautiful Departed is experimental rock at its finest.
March 3, 2009
