Freakwater
's messed-up but glorious harmonies have always been the key to their sound, and if they suggested the lost members of
the Carter Family
far gone on cheap booze on 1995's
Feels Like the Third Time
, they still sound essentially the same way 21 years down the line, which only points to the bent timelessness of their body of work. 2016's
Scheherazade
may be the first album in over a decade from
Catherine Irwin
and
Janet Beveridge Bean
, but the dour yet perceptive storytelling of their lyrics and the wobbly sincerity of their vocals suggest no more than a few months passed between 2005's
Thinking of You
and this set. From the grim abuse of "What the People Want" to the homey but troubling visions of "Ghost Song,"
leave no doubt they're still living in the same fallen world that's always been their home, and they evoke a difficult past and a similarly blighted present while facing it all with the quirky grin of a confirmed cynic.
themselves haven't changed, but
does find them working with a different supporting cast; while their previous albums were all cut in Chicago,
was recorded in
's native Louisville, Kentucky, with a team of players that includes
Warren Ellis
from
the Dirty Three
,
James Elkington
Tweedy
Eleventh Dream Day
, and
Evan Patterson
of
Young Widows
on guitar, as well as
's longtime bassist
David Wayne Gay
. The arrangements have more of a dreamlike lean than the more Appalachian approach of their earlier work, but ultimately the music serves the songs and vocal performances on
, and does so beautifully.
isn't exactly the Feel Good Album of 2016, but being lost and forsaken with
is a more satisfying experience than feeling perky with most other acts, and
is a brilliant reminder of what
do so strikingly well. ~ Mark Deming