John Vanderslice - Cellar Door

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Music reviews of Cellar Door

Music Review: A Vanderslice of Genius
Rating: 4 Stars

Right off the top of my head, I can think of several combinations that might be classified as unfortunate, both because of the simple results of these respective unions as well as the meaning the results hold for the world at large. A few obvious examples might include socks and sandles, George and Barbara Bush, and commerce and art. Speaking of art, one other combination that has continually been attempted only to fail miserably in its product is that of rock and roll and what we'll call high art (also known as High Art). Fine, okay, scream "Tommy!" from the rafters and I'll show you a thousand examples resembling the Stonehenge stage show from "Spinal Tap." This already bad thing gets even worse when one recognizes that a disproportionate number of these experiments originated within the early to mid-80's metal scene and generally involved witches and various elfin woodland creatures. There's really nothing more that needs to be said here.
So what's the deal with John Vanderslice? The San Francisco-based singer-songwriter has released two concept albums in recent years, complete with lyrics based on the poetry of William Blake and Robert Lowell, and even a Bach riff or two thrown in for good measure. That said, Vanderslice has already shown himself to be a unique and thoughtful artist, with an ability to succeed where so many, as I have said, have failed.
His ability, though, goes far beyond being able to pull off high concepts. On the latest release, Cellar Door, Vanderslice seems to have toned down that side of things a bit-though the songs are still linked through themes, and one song, "Pale Horse," draws lyrics from the poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley. While there's not a specific narrative that runs throughout the album, the characters and predicaments in these songs know each other well. Some go to one war while others suffer the psychological leftovers of another. The estranged branch of a broken family in "My Family Tree," can no doubt understand the opiate-addled son from "When It Hits My Blood," who essentially trades the little family he has left for a fix. And the trapped-by-life characters of songs like "Wild Strawberries," "They Won't Let Me Run," "Lunar Landscapes," and "June July," certainly share the same fantasies of flight and of ending up anywhere but where they are. Like good cinema (and the songs on Cellar Door are nothing if not cinematic) the characters are not always pleasant or uplifting, but they are honest and real.
As usual, Vanderslice finds ways to make his production both inventive and familiar-something that, at this point, can only be identified as that Vanderslice sound. It doesn't hurt that he owns and operates Tiny Telephone studios in San Francisco-recording home to the likes of Beulah, the Mountain Goats, and Sun Kil Moon, among others. In a sense, Vanderslice has turned the studio into his own science lab of sound, stocked full of assorted bells and whistles, the vintage and the modern. He's had a lot of time to hone his production skills and it shows-indeed, the production details read like rocket science, but the results are simply gorgeous. Vanderslice and his assorted musicians employ everything from a moog and strings to portuguese guitars and (no joke) a detuned fireplace to create a layered mix of hi-fi and lo-fi that sounds much more basic than it actually is.
Cellar Door only further cements John Vanderslice's place as a varied and visionary artist. From the writing to the production to the idiosyncratic way Vanderslice delivers his lines, the album represents, as they say, the total package.

8.7 out of 10.

Description of Cellar Door

Alternative Rock CDs

• Music > Styles
• Pop
• Rock