Old Tom & The Lookouts: “Just For Beasts” (2021) CD Review

Old Tom & The Lookouts is a folk band based in Boston, and led by Alex Calabrese. They put out their first album, I’ll Be Alright, in 2018, and followed it last year with Beautiful Or Not. Their new album, Just For Beasts, features all original material. We are living in strange and stressful times, with many reasons for worry, both about our loved ones and ourselves. It seems that a lot of folks are dealing with anxiety and depression, and the pandemic is certainly not helping. What may be of some help, however, is this album, for it addresses these troubles in a way that feels honest and human, and even uplifting, giving us the sense that we will make it through this thing. The music is beautiful and powerful, sometimes like a cry building up from deep within, and sometimes like that cry’s answer. The band is made up of Alex Calabrese on vocals, guitar, keys, bass, ukulele and percussion; Cecilia Vacanti on violin and vocals; Jacob McCurdy on vocals, guitar and percussion; and Michael Sanford Day on banjo. Several other musicians and vocalists join them on various tracks.

The album opens with “Flat Leaver,” a beautiful song, much of its beauty coming from Cecelia Vacanti’s work on strings. There is also an intensity to the song. “I heard it gets better over time/I heard it gets better over time.” And when he sings “Steady on,” it feels like a comforting hand on our shoulders, like he is speaking to us as well as to himself. That’s followed by “Mokey Says,” which has a more cheerful sound, though its first line is “Mokey says the world is gonna end soon.” This song is strangely soothing as he sings, “Get up and run, you fools, I’m weighted down.” Galen Fraser plays cittern on this track.

“Hey Edna” is about trying to be there for someone who is suffering, trying to help. Sometimes it can be so hard to watch someone hurting, especially when we feel helpless to relieve him or her of anxiety and pain. This song opens with the line “Hey Edna, I’m sorry you’re hurting,” and it is delivered with a sense of intimacy. At moment throughout the song the backing vocalists repeat “Sorry, Edna.” Connor Storms, Zach Khanlian and Nick Cabrera provide backing vocals on this track. Jameson Stewart is on bass, and Ralph Peterson adds some wonderful work on trumpet. There is a sweet aspect to this song, and toward the end it becomes uplifting. Interestingly, the next song, “Alive,” has the line “Slinging sorry like we’ll never die,” but the lines that especially stick out for me are “Calling favors from the night/Pray the beds we’ve made can hold us tight.” And when the backing vocalists come in, this one also takes on an uplifting sound. Of course, the presence of banjo helps as well. This is a fantastic song, one of my personal favorites. Connor Storms plays guitar and provides some vocal work here. Check out these lines, which I’m sure many folks can relate to: “I told myself I must be alive/‘Cause I’m hurting like I’m sober and I’m feeling eighty-five/And your bones don’t creak when you’re underground/When your backyard skulls start screaming/There’s no hope to settle down.”

Another of my personal favorites is “Just For Beasts,” the album’s title track. Interestingly, the band’s first album has a song with the word “Beasts” in its title, “Hungry Beasts.” This song features some incredible lyrics. Check out these lines: “You know I get bolder in the night/Well, I crumble easy like dried up cake/And I’m counting down to my next mistake/And I’m searching for something that I can make right.” And I love the way this song builds. That’s followed by “Madelyn,” which features some absolutely beautiful vocal work. Those harmonies are gorgeous. “Please forgive me for fucking up, Madelyn/I’ve been waving these ghostly arms, suffering.” Sometimes I really believe we can sing our way out of despair, and this song sounds like that, seems to confirm my belief. Then “Hovering Crows” has a cheerful vibe and rhythm on the chorus, and features more excellent vocal work. “Gran Gran’s Pharmacy” is a moving song, its lyrics containing some surprising rhymes. “Hell, you just might quote a parable to convince us you’re less terrible/Though we know we’ll be forgotten once your boots are beneath your end table.” Alex Lacava plays accordion on this track.

“Waiting On Line” begins gently, and builds in power for the chorus, which features wonderful and compelling work on strings. This track concludes with an interesting section where the line “For someone claiming all the light you bring an awful lot of darkness” is repeated, ending with that line delivered a cappella. Steve Dennis provides backing vocals on this track. That’s followed by “Dark Rooms,” a song that addresses fear and uncertainty. “Shout till you’re hoarse/Flick the lights on, of course.” Life sometimes feels like making our way through a dark room, when even the familiar is strange, and we’re never really completely sure of things. This track contains some beautiful work on violin. Then in “Love In A Hospital,” they urge us, “When you hurt all over and you feel like giving up/Please don’t give up.” That feels like the message of this album. Galen Fraser plays violin on this track. The album concludes with “Graveyard Vs. Hot Air Balloon.” certainly the most intriguing song title of the album. Galen Fraser plays violin on this one as well. Connor Storms plays flute, and Ralph Peterson is on trumpet. “I’ve endured a fair amount/When the airways broke and the lungs let out/Placed in a pool where my feet can’t touch/When you’re under water you don’t say much.”

CD Track List

1. Flat Leaver
2. Mokey Says
3. Hey Edna
4. Alive
5. Just For Beasts
6. Madelyn
7. Hovering Crows
8. Gran Gran’s Pharmacy
9. Waiting On Line
10. Dark Rooms
11. Love In A Hospital
12. Graveyard Vs. Hot Air Balloon

Just For Beasts was released on November 4, 2021.