Fat Wreck Chords – 13 Aug 2021
Cape’s sadness hits harder after all… this
Let’s just put this out there first and foremost: Joey Cape has definitely put out an album that encapsulates the awful, awful time we’ve been dealing with since the start of all… this. I’ve always felt that Joey Cape’s “solo” albums (I put that in quotes because, often, he has a great team of musicians in tow) were mostly a niche product. Something that dedicated fans could listen to but not really music, or a style, that most people who didn’t already appreciate either Lagwagon, or incredibly sad music, would really get into. This may be that breakout release that can appeal to a larger audience.
The Lagwagon frontman’s newest LP, A Good Year to Forget, launches with the title track “A Good Year to Forget,” starting things off solo acoustic and displaying his knack for stellar songwriting and lyrics. A tad over a minute in the rest of the music drops in and the song, still sad, a bit morose, but a nice beat lifts it up higher than it likely deserves to be. But all of the pieces coming together won’t be denied.
Third track in “The Poetry in Our Mistakes” is a well-crafted piece of music, a haunting track that never picks itself up off of the ground. “It Could Be Real” follows, another of the more upbeat songs with a chorus that tugs at the heartstrings (it also has an amusing video which features a bit of tongue-in-cheek and Cape’s self-deprecation). I may be wrong, but “We Might Be Wrong” sounds like it has some slide guitar on deck. Whether or not that’s the case, the song has a surprising Western feel to it that caught me off guard.
This theme follows along with the penultimate track “Fictional,” which features the rhythmic plucking of the banjo keeping the beat with the song, and the last two minutes are pure music, leaving you wondering when the other shoe will drop. Honestly when listening I became a bit disconcerted because I keep thinking if something more will happen but, instead, the song just finishes itself out suddenly and without warning. Not a bad thing, actually a bit crafty to play with the listener’s expectation. This leads into the final track “Come Home” which, frankly, sees Cape’s voice at some of its most fragile and plaintive. Heartbreaking music, indeed.
A Good Year to Forget may not always be about the pandemic and it’s affect on everyone, but the “half-sad/half-smile” (to crib lyrics form a Lagwagon song) style of Cape’s solo work is definitely is a breath of fresh air at this hour. It’s still entertainment, to be sure. But also a lot of commiseration. Cape’s warble-y voice, rarely sturdy during his softer vocal moments, are even more of a gut-punch on A Good Year… than it ever really has been. That’s not a knock on his music in general– I’ve been a fan of his spin-off work since 2004’s Acoustic split with the late Tony Sly. It is just that, this time around, I think a lot more people have good reasons to bummed along with him for this ride, and they say that mood can enhance experience. Many vocalists can make you feel emotion, but Joey Cape has a skill for engendering empathy.
I think I speak for a lot of us when I say that we’ve not in the best of moods lately.
the white drew carey (aka – Jeff Sorley) is the founder and head editor of TGEFM. He’s lived (outside of) Chicago, Madison WI, (ugh) Penn State, Lyon FR, Oxford UK, central New Jersey, and now within earshot of SFO in the Bay Area. When not scouring the web for more great bands and labels to post about, he also spends time drawing (mostly) silly sci-fi and anime stuff under the name Asplenia Studios.
