LAST OF THE COUNTRY GENTLEMEN by Josh T Pearson

All of a sudden, a lot of people seem to know about Josh T Pearson.  Those of us lucky enough to discover his now-defunct first band, Lift To Experience, always felt like we were part of something special; some kind of secret society dedicated to the appreciation of biblically-inspired post-rock played by Texans with huge sideburns.  At the moment, however, it's difficult to look through any music publication (of worth), both online and off, without coming upon yet another review heaping praise on this, his debut solo album.  For most people this recording may have come out of nowhere, a breakthrough effort from an enigmatic and laconic singer-songwriter who wouldn't look out of place in a John Ford film, but some of us have been waiting a very long time for this record.  Almost ten years, in fact.  So with all this anticipation surrounding Pearson's first album since the heady days of The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads, we have to ask whether the old magic is still there.

The easiest (and arguably laziest) approach would be to compare Last of the Country Gentlemen with Pearson's work under the Lift To Experience banner.  Interestingly, such a comparison throws up as many similarities as it does differences.  While the sound of LTE was dominated by waves of delayed electric guitar, the performances on this album consist of no more than Pearson's vocals and delicately picked acoustic guitar, occasionally accompanied by a pared-down string section.  While this understated set-up might sound a long way from the full-on sonic assault of Pearson's early work, it is no less devestatingly effective.  Given so much room to breathe, his songs reveal themselves as compelling and nakedly emotional miniature symphonies, shot through with the strong country influence which was often masked by the walls of sound on his previous recordings.  Such a minimalist approach also gives centre-stage to Pearson's awesome vocals, a mixture of soaring high notes, quiet crooning and muttered spoken word which has become his trademark.  It's not difficult to see why his voice has earned him comparisons with the late Jeff Buckley in the past, especially when listening to opening track Thou Art Loosed, featuring as it does an ornate vocal line that wouldn't sound out of place in one of Giovanni Palestrina's choral masses. 

Pearson's lyrics for Lift To Experience dealt with subjects as grand as the return of Jesus Christ and the battle of Armageddon, and while the songs on this album have their share of biblical imagery, (especially on the bad-tempered Sweetheart I Ain't Your Christ) they seem to deal with - at first listen - much more mundane tales of relationship woes and existential crises.  But part of the brilliance of Pearson's songwriting lies in the fact that in his hands, the tale of a single argument between two lovers or the slow breakdown of an unhappy marriage takes on the apocalyptic grandeur of an endless war between heaven and hell; the rage and anguish of a thousand angels and demons condensed into a single broken promise or crossed word.   

This is an intensely beautiful album.  In these seven tracks, Pearson has crafted heartrending stories of love and loss, soundtracked by wearily picked guitar arpeggios which wax and wane in the near-silence, fading only to make way for that incredible voice.   The sense of bittersweet yearning in this music is almost overwhelming, and speaks of the regret left behind by years of hot passion and cold fury.  But despite the downbeat subject matter, Last of the Country Gentlemen is not a miserablist work.  It's an album of undeniable warmth, an album which transcends style and genre and connects with the listener at a primal, emotional level.  In short, it's the Josh T Pearson album that we've been waiting for.