No other performer excites me these days quite like Henry
Wagons. Rumble, Shake And Tumble, the full-length album from 2011, is full of great tunes and
delicious, somewhat twisted energy. That year I saw the band perform at a small
venue in Los Angeles, and it was one of the best concerts of the year.
So I was seriously thrilled to hear the new solo EP by
Henry Wagons. Titled Expecting Company?,
this collection of seven songs confirms his place as one of the most exciting
musicians around. I’m completely sold on this guy’s talent, and I’ll definitely
be paying close attention to everything he does from now on (well, everything
he does musically, that is). All of the material on Expecting Company? is original, and Henry plays most of the
instruments on these tracks. Si Francis joins him on drums for four of the
songs.
One of my favorite elements on this album, however, is
the female vocals. Most of these tracks are duets, and the vocalists are all
impressive. The more I listen to this album, the more entranced and enamored I
become.
There is a great freedom in this album. Henry clearly is
not trying to restrain himself, but gives his creativity free rein. And it
bounds in several directions, finding a temporary home in the late 1960s – at
least on a few tracks. But there is country and folk here as well. What amazes
me is that he does everything so well. It’s like each experiment pays off. I
feel like if he were Frankenstein, his monster would have turned out just fine.
By the way, check out the cover. With the title in
quotation marks, and the songs listed on the front, it totally fits with the
1960s feel of several of the tracks.
“Unwelcome
Company”
Expecting Company?
opens with “Unwelcome Company,” which has an intense late 1960s feel. You
expect sexy go-go dancers with light playing on their torsos to rush into your
room brandishing guitars and silver pistols. Two quick drums rolls open the
song like machine gun bursts. And Henry sings, “The gentle patter of angel’s
toes/Circle round my bedside and brush against my nose.” It sounds a bit like
something from Wild In The Streets.
And then Alison Mosshart comes in on vocals. She sounds
like a sex kitten who will tear you to pieces with her claws and leave
you smiling. She’ll betray you, and you can’t fault her. And when they sing
together it’s like the Airplane was hired to do a soundtrack for a weird film. It’s
when Henry sings, “Everywhere I go they
follow/Everywhere I go they follow me” that he returns to familiar ground.
But only briefly. I love those short spurts of electric guitar. Basically, this
song blew me away.
“I’m In Love With
Mary Magdalene”
“I’m In Love With Mary Magdalene” also has that sort of
feel, while adding to it that familiar country rhythm, though then taking it
and twisting it into a strange tale of lusting for Mary Magdalene. Henry sings,
“Spent all night immersed in prayer/Why
must my mind always take me there” (and then Sophia Brous responds with
similar lines: “Why must your mind always
take you there”). There is actually something sexy about this song, due in
large part to Sophia Brous’ vocals, which are amazing. And then it ends on such
a pretty note.
“Give Things A
Chance To Mend”
Henry Wagons switches to country for “Give Things A
Chance To Mend.” But it’s the country of days gone by. We’re in another time,
or rather Henry pulls that time to us to make it now. The song is a plea to
take a moment and not to make a hasty exit from the relationship, but rather
give things a chance to get better. It’s a cool love song. Grab a beer and
think of that special, problematic someone. This one is a duet with Jenn Grant,
who completely, perfectly captures that old feel. What a great voice. This tune
also features pedal steel by Seamus O’Sullivan.
“I Still Can’t
Find Her”
I love how low Henry’s voice gets on the opening line of
“I Still Can’t Find Her”: “Blow the dust.”
The more I listen to Henry Wagons, the more I’m impressed by his vocals. And he
does some interesting stuff on this one. And I really like this section: “My mother’s cousin Deborah cheated on her
husband Wayne/Wayne’s photo’s been placed by Bill/And that seems a little harsh
to me, Debbie.” It’s Debbie’s name coming after that pause that cracks me
up every time. That has to be one of the most effective uses of a pause ever in
a song. And then to top it off, there’s a spoken word bit. That’s Robert
Forster performing; Forster co-wrote this tune with Henry Wagons.
“A Hangman’s Work
Is Never Done”
Things get a little strange with “A Hangman’s Work Is
Never Done.” This is a wonderfully messed up tune, and will work well on a cool
Halloween mix CD. Seriously. It’s a dark tune, but with a drum beat slightly
reminiscent of something like “Radar Love” or “Ballroom Blitz.” There’s some
killing toward the end. Patience Hodgson provides some excellent vocals.
“Give Me A Kiss”
“Give Me A Kiss” is more in the folk vein, but with a
weird carnival waltz atmosphere. My favorite part is Gossling’s vocals. Holy
moly, these two make quite a couple. Check out these lines they sing together: “Let’s stop this before it gets worse/There’s
room for both of us in this hearse/Raise your glass now to this toast/Let’s
split at this fork in the road.” I love this song, and I wish it were
longer. I want more.
“Marylou Two”
Expecting Company?
concludes with “Marylou Two,” a sort of sequel to (or re-working of) “Marylou,”
the final track from Rumble, Shake And
Tumble. This one is more of an acoustic folk version, and as a result has
an immediate and vulnerable feel. Basically, it’s like the very end of the
original version, but expanded to a full song of its own. “And I can’t break free from you, Marylou.” This is also the only
track that is not a duet.
CD
Track List
- Unwelcome Company
- I’m In Love With Mary Magdalene
- Give Things A Chance To Mend
- I Still Can’t Find Her
- A Hangman’s Work Is Never Done
- Give Me A Kiss
- Marylou Two
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