Smog - 'Neath the Puke Tree EP
(Drag City)
'Neath the Puke Tree is the newest release from Smog (a.k.a. Bill
Callahan). Four of the five songs on this EP were recorded in Melbourne
Australia, and much like the landscape there, this EP has a barren and
stripped down, empty feel to it.
"I was a Stranger" is the only song on this EP that wasn't recorded in
Australia, and possibly because of that, it has a much more lush sound to
it. "I was a Stranger" is a different, more traditional country version
of the song which originally appeared on Smog's Red Apple Falls. With a
full band sound, a lap steel guitar, and a more polished sound, it
definitely stands out on this EP.
"A Jar of Sand" starts with a simple 3-chord progression strummed on an
acoustic guitar that repeats throughout the song, Callahan
singing/speaking, a unobtrusive and minimal drum beat, and the recorded
sounds of waves breaking and rolling up onto the beach that fade out as
the song progresses. The sounds of waves slowly drift back into the mix
near the end of the song as Callahan repeats "Tide pool, big enough,
steep enough to drown in / tide pool, deep enough to drown in."
Since "A Jar of Sand," "Orion Obscured by Stars," "Your Sweet Entrance,"
and "Coacheecayoo" were all recorded at the same time, it isn't
surprising that they all have the same kind of barren or desolate feel to
them. While the songwriting is wonderful, and the lyrical content
is standard Smog fare, that barren, desolate desert is crying out to be flooded with the
additional instrumentation and accompaniment of a talented guest musician
and collaborator like Jim O'Rourke
or John McEntire (who have worked with Smog on his last few albums).
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