When The Devil's Loose - A.A. Bondy

Rating - 7.5

Since American Hearts, A.A. Bondy's 2007 solo debut, much has changed. Our country went through one of the most polarizing elections in its history, plunged deeper into economic turmoil, which along with other factors brought on a seemingly insurmountable recession. Bondy, however, has stayed the same. Call him a visionary, or just plain gloomy, but American Hearts somehow sounds more relevant today than it did upon initial release, and When The Devil's Loose (out now on Fat Possum) goes a long way in solidifying Bondy's place as one of America's most adequate songwriters.

Bondy is still enamored with the mysterious, and to his credit he is able to give even the darkest character's a touch of romance. On "Oh The Vampyre," it comes if the form of the chorus "and when I come I will come on like a dream/with a crimson moon a-shinin' down upon my devil's ring." But its not just the evil that's inside us that Bondy is so interested in, but also the wildness of the world which makes us that way. Or saves us. Sometimes its hard to tell. Take "A Slow Parade," which has him "going down/where the waves will surround" in a similar pace as "Of The Sea" from American Hearts. In "Of the Sea" he paints a detached but beautiful scenario of two lovers plunging to bottom of the sea just to give each one true and lasting moment; a kiss. But in "A Slow Parade" A.A. challenges the waters to find "another horse to break," making When the Devil's Loose feel more like a pessimistic break-up album, rather than a political statement. The only other major difference on this record is the absence of his trademark finger-picking acoustic and rustic harmonica, with the exception of "Mightiest of Guns." Instead, he plunks out the songs on a muddy, chunky electric guitar, backed on most songs with tasteful discretion by the Felice Brothers.

Its hard to find a weak track here, a testament to Bondy's thorough and honest songwriting. And while his predictability is still satisfying, the most enjoyable moment on the album is the perky Phil Spector daydream of "I Can See The Pines Are Dancing." Its two-tier chorus arrives just in time, and on the second refrain leads into a "La la laaa" fade out that would make Springsteen jealous. Its not until the album's closer, "The Coal Hits the Fire," that we get that kind of explosion of sound and energy again. That song, and the album, end shortly thereafter with a military marching band and old-timey whistle. Its reminiscent, like most of A. A. Bondy's work, to America's inability to make its present less like its past.

"I Can See the Pines are Dancing" is below. Download it free!