Recorded almost entirely at White’s home studio, this, his second release of 2022 following Fear of the Dawn, is a counterpoint of sorts to a noisy world, perhaps sharing more in common with his 2012 solo debut Blunderbuss and its sense of emotional directness and artful intimacy.
Loose, jangly opening song A Tip From You to Me begins with a statement borrowed from the philosopher John Stuart Mill — “ask yourself if you are happy and then you cease to be”, suggesting White’s current state of mind. Over the course of 11 songs, he works through how one might try to live in the present and hold on to love amid flaws.
All Along the Way folds in guitar drenched in Delta, sparse dub elements and Hansel and Gretel references, with White’s vocal evoking a Wings-era McCartney. In fact, a couple of songs are Beatles-adjacent, such as the romantic Help Me Along, led by a warm Wurlitzer, it is a faded beautiful devotional.
Love is Selfish and its simple beauty continues the album’s theme of frailty amid fealty, suggesting that although love can sometimes be painful, there is freedom in acknowledging its complexities. I’ve Got You Surrounded (With My Love) and its rich percussion brings to mind Midnite Vultures-era Beck, and Queen of the Bees is a jaunty ragtime outing.
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Tree on Fire From Within is a particular highlight. With its simple glassy piano melody and smooth bass lines, it seems to return White back to himself. If I Die Tomorrow is all pleasingly, radiantly acoustic, but in truth, much of this record is underpinned by White’s foundation stones — as he asks on the blues-rock shuffle of Please God, Don’t Tell Anyone — “have I proven myself to no one?”
Madman from Manhattan is a wonky wonder, with a fuzzy 70s feel, and a burrowing bass line, White sounds like he is testifying, and Taking Me Back (Gently)’s piano melody is glorious.
In a sense, the record suggests that we try not to operate from a place of fear, or at least try to move through it, because at least it is movement. What is surprising is that in finding a certain kind of contentment, White has produced possibly his best (and certainly most mellow and melodic) record to date. Perhaps John Stuart Mill was right: “Those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness; on the happiness of others, on the improvement of mankind, even on some art or pursuit, followed not as a means, but as itself an ideal end.”
