Undercard

"And you touch my hand and the sun bleeds down/ Ineffective warnings all over the ground/ And I'm standing on the same spot where your husband stood/ It's an ill wind that does nobody good..."
- Adultery

The records begins with a guitar line that is beaten around the edges but still enduring and resonant like the sound of a heavy rain, and lyrics (above) which it would be needless to explain. Stormy and intentionally dissonant, the new album from John Darnielle and Franklin Bruno as the Extra Lens is arresting at once. It follows the more sombre and reflective Martial Arts Weekend released in 2002 with what is sometimes an ambuscade of highly energised instrumentation and vivid songwriting. When Darnielle emerges with Bruno it seems absolutely because of his desire to add some classical intonation to his songwriting, some flair which Bruno possesses. The pair are wonderfully literate together and their seperate ideas weave together with subtlty.

At times the music is restrained and the theme of the underdog player is portrayed, especially so in Cruiserweights which is a piece focussed on a boxer tired and worn out by his life in a town he can't bear any longer. A character faced overtly with the reality of his situation, which is desperate:

"Bucket full of blood and dirty water/ Voices screaming at me from my corner/ Head for the clutches when I need to buy time/ Take a couple of shots right to the liver/ Then I remember what the food was like in prison/ Stick to the game plan, try to buy some time..."

Desolate and alone, the character is surrounded by pettiness and bright lights; his only reassurance is himself. Typical of Bruno and Darnielle's style a guitar carries the quietly sung verses and the piano assists in reverberating the solitary tone of Darnielle's voice. The realism of the songwriting and the focus on all that is in the immediate periphery of the character is sublime. The Extra Lens have the set pieces and the mise-en-scene all together in a determined opening to the album.

The theme of the album tends to centre on characters who are quite ordinary in nature but going through some trying times. What is thoroughly appealing in the Extra Lens is the shimmer of the paired effort; notable in Programmed Cell Death, with effortless harmonies. Astonishingly so, and anticipated with gradual but barely noticeable instrumentation. Darnielle's lyrics, despite referring to quite ordinary events- or so they might seem to those who lack inspiration-, have an almost ethereal effect:

"And suddenly the lights out in the parking lot/ Begin to burst like sodas under pressure/ One by own they throw themselves against the night sky/ And almost unremarked upon the moment passes by..."

There is something about being able to frame a moment in such a way and reaching such delicate and fleeting harmonies towards the halfway stage, something which is wonderful to recognise. It is certainly why Darnielle is not only regarded as one of our generation's best songwriters, but simply writers as well.

How I Left The Ministry is a brilliant depiction of the insensible nature of passion, and conveys the energy therein with its quick, occasionally flaring manner. Its portrayal of human flaws and the sometimes comic action of trying to control them is entertaining and remedial in a sense; what other artists draw inspiration from the insensibilities of human nature?

It would take a veritable mountain of words to explain all that is endearing and honest about this album released two of the most talented contemporary songwriters there are. Darnielle and Bruno take the adulterers, the people trying to escape their past, the people who fight against their own instincts and given them definition much like the great painters that were alive centuries ago. The definition is gathered in pace, style and the ability of the pair to marry this to what is, in my own opinion, undeniably expressive prose. The kind of album that it would be a pleasure to see more of, it is difficult to sum but in small segments apart from the whole.

At times haunting (In Germany Before the War), at times self consciously comical (How I Left the Ministry), and brilliantly hyperbolic at times (this is a running theme). It's a well rounded album, much like a collection of short stories. Literature in its musical form, this is.

The Extra Lens is a collaboration between Franklin Bruno of Nothing Painted Blue and John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats. This is a follow up to their 2002 album Martial Arts Weekend confusingly by the Extra Glenns. Clearly no respecters of iPod sort orders these people.

Bruno is a longtime Mountain Goats collaborator and wrote the splendidly deranged Houseguest that often closes Mountain Goat sets.

So is this album any good. The first track, Adultery is spitting with energy and venom, but seems to finish without the real kick that it deserves. The final track Dogs of Clinic 17 is similarly rocky. For me the best of the rest is In Germany before the War which has an epic sombre-ness. There are some other more that decent tracks, but a few too many that don't do much.

Personally I think the Mountain Goats are indescribably excellent, and I hope that they will release a killer breakthrough album so that everyone else realises how genius they are, and John makes obscene amounts of money to spend on stage make-up, you can always use more makeup.

After the rather po faced and ponderous The Life Of The World To Come (Amazon MP3 Exclusive Version) this is a welcome change of pace, lighter and less serious. Hopefully an indication that the Mountain Goats won't try too hard, but just get on with releasing more great music.

Finally, I've not done any research on this, but I'm not aware of any different formats or hard to track down extras, there is a leaflet if you get a CD, and a pdf version if you get the download, feel free to contradict me in the comments.