Cass McCombs - Dropping The Writ

CASS McCOMBS
Dropping The Writ
Domino Records

While this is Cass McCombs’ third album, his debut release on Domino signals a slight change in direction for the American songsmith. His previous long-player, PREfection, was multi-layered, full of reverb and could have been accused of being a little ostentatious in places. While Dropping The Writ remains ambitious in some of its arrangements, it pleasingly shows the Californian offering a higher level of accessibility to his output.

Perhaps this album actually shows a shift in approach rather than a change in direction. This is still very much a Cass McCombs record, yet this time round the songs generally have a more folky feel to them. Acoustic guitars feature prominently and the lyrical content is much less obscure than in previous outings.

To illustrate this, the dreamy Pregnant Pause would surely have been drowned in sound had it appeared on an earlier recording, yet here its harmonica and perky percussion are wisely given the space to breathe to create something quite lovely. Similarly, the acoustic Full Moon or Infinity is eerily reminiscent of the gentle beauty of Elliott Smith. Elsewhere, there are shards of loveliness that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Shins record.

It is during moments like these that Dropping The Writ transcends the impressive yet slightly hollow feel of his previous offerings. One senses that, if McCombs continues to strip back his sound even further, we will have a genuine work of genius on our hands when his next album drops.