Album Review: Califone – Stitches
Welcome to the landscape of Stitches. Califone usually make music in Chicago. This time they headed towards the West Coast. The product of this adventure is a musical ramble that stretches from the familiar, traditional twangs and slides of Appalachian folk to the ringing, synth-laden expanses of American deserts.
Tim Rutili’s vocals will instantly appeal to fans of americana. His grizzled tones create a striking juxtaposition when paired with the angelic strains of the harmonies on the album’s title track, ‘Stitches’. On the other hand, if you’re not a massive of fan of that particular sort of whisky-aged timbre, it could be a deal-breaker. But don’t let it deter you; Rutili’s vocals are by no means the real selling point for this record.
The real U.S.P. of Stitches is the true songwriter’s savoir-faire that went into making it. On ‘Stitches’, the gradual swell of soft accordion layered over unrelenting drones forms the kind of delicious melancholia that you might expect to find in an Antlers record. This sense of luscious dejection is continued on ‘Moses’, where strings, punctuated by piano, manage to melt into a texture that is heart-wrenchingly sumptuous.
But this is not an album that sits whining depressing stories into your ear, like that gin-soaked regular propping up the bar at your local. ‘Frosted Tips’ and ‘Magdalene’ are two great examples of Califone’s songwriting flair which definitely won’t give you a case of the blues. And okay, ‘Frosted Tips’ does open with the sound of rain on a tin roof and the refrain “Here we are, watching the new world die”, but then it builds into a sax-filled stomper that echoes some of Bowie’s forays into plastic soul.
Magdalene could be mistaken for a conventional piano ballad, until you realise that it opens with the warning, “Don’t let her take you down the rabbit hole” and continues, “Magdalene takes you by the throat and smiles”. The story of Mary Magdalene’s much discussed (by the residents of Southern France and Dan Brown) appearance on a Marseille beach makes for an unlikely subject, but what Califone appear to have created is a finely crafted piano ballad about the other Mary. Deliberately or otherwise, ‘Magdalene’ immediately appears to be a parody or inversion of ‘Let It Be’. That’s a bold move – and one that only a truly consummate songwriter could get away with.
The most daring thing about Stitches is its marriage of folk and noise. ‘A Thin Skin of Bullfighting Dust’ is a perfect example of this melding of the electronic and the analogue, with layers of loops and distortion, whilst ‘Bells Break Arms’ is an eerie collage of synth riffs versus ringing, lingering piano chords; lush harmony versus silence.
This album is truly inventive. It feels like a collage or a scrapbook, a collection of experiences, narratives and landscapes that is reflected in the strange melting pot that is Stitches. It’s the craftsmanship of Califone’s songwriting however, that is the real standout feature of the record. Even if you usually find listening to men with acoustic guitars about as interesting as watching pensioners take in a round of golf, it’s easy to appreciate the fact that this band really know what they’re playing at.
– Katherine Travers
