BY JULIA SMITH-EPPSTEINER
For the Daily
Published January 30, 2011
You’re seated in a breakfast nook with your significant other. Blueberry-granola pancakes sit in front of you, the Sunday morning light is streaming through the cracked windows and Amos Lee’s Mission Bell resounds from the corner of the living room — sufficient background music. Unpunctuated by diverse chords or lyrics, and not nearly as gut-punching as his past three albums, Amos Lee’s latest is a bit of a let-down, but more disappointingly, a love-down.
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Lee’s perpetually soothing vocals live in more of a Southern register throughout the 13 tracks, dominated by relationship downfall and religious imagery. The second song, “Windows Are Rolled Down,” is the single memorable hook on the album. The four other hooks are solidly beautiful and the rest could be done without — even if the pancakes are to die for.
Lee takes a chance with a bluesier sound on the track “Jesus,” accompanied by vocalist James Gadson. The truly terrible track clashes deeply with Lee’s thundering country vocals repeating, “Oh Jesus can you help me now / No I never felt so alone.” It seems that Jesus would be less interested in uplifting Lee from his women problems than in helping him to rediscover his musical prowess.
It appears Lee has gone slightly off-kilter from the numerous soul-based genres under his Philadelphian belt, but “Learned a Lot,” “Cup of Sorrow” and “Violin” save us from completely discarding the broken-hearted, scruffy angel with a jawline sharper than his own F sharp.
A glimpse of sunshine within Lee’s introspective and mostly somber album is “Learned a Lot,” which takes you to a sweetly nostalgic mindset, Starbucks cup warming your palm, as his acoustic strings warm the rest of you with “I’ve been crying / But my crying is through.” “Cup of Sorrow” is full of sorrow, but it’s the brand that we all hate to love. Standout track “Violin” is a gorgeous statement of sound from both Lee and guest Sam Beam of Iron & Wine that brings us back to classic Amos Lee. In this particular track, Joey Burns of Calexico makes his folk presence vibrantly appear through his role as producer.
Vacuuming Mission Bell into the gray abyss of mediocre records are Lee’s over-simplified, forgettable lyrics. The album is peppered with scene-describing poetic phrases that could have only been appreciated at the time of their creation (probably by good ol’ Adam and Eve) — distant shores, unknown coasts, rolling highways, heaven’s gate and dark nights.
Fifteen percent of the album is devoted to “El Camino” — Lee’s original opening song on Mission Bell and the concluding reprise, accompanied by Willie Nelson. Though the collaboration rounds the album off reverently, it also leads to appreciation of the eclectic soft voice of Amos Lee and a new understanding of why the music industry is youth dominated.
Mission Bell is more of a failure than a success; Lee took a risk and there are an overwhelming number of throwaways, but “Windows Are Rolled Down” and “Violin” could easily slink their way into your recently played. So run away to a distant shore with those redeeming songs and life will be just smashing.
