record review: Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - Cardinology (repost, sans mp3)

I am so sick of emails with "Blogger DMCA takedown notification" in the subject line.

I specifically DIDN'T post a song from Cardinology, in order to avoid the wrath of these stupid internet cops.

I'm kind of sad because I edited it online and didn't save the changes on my word document, so here is the incomplete review.

anyhow, here it is:

It seems like Ryan Adams fans are abundant, but not fanatics. This doesn’t mean that Ryan is not worthy of our ecstatic anticipation, on the contrary: he has consistently released excellent music since his fantastic debut, Heartbreaker. It’s just that, though, he is ridiculously consistent. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m glad that there is at least one artist whom I can turn to and not be disappointed with. The only downside is that we know that Ryan won’t get very much critical attention, despite his incredibly excellent new songs. I have yet to be familiar with all of Ryan’s songs (I am a relatively new fan on about 3 months), because there is such a vast supply of goodness, including excellent live shows floating online. All I do know, is that Ryan’s voice warms me like hot chocolate.

Now, his new record- the verdict: EXCELLENT. Most of the record is characteristic of Ryan’s unpretentious neo-ballad type songs, like “Let us Down Easy Lord” and “Fix It”, but there are a good number of surprises, like the ridiculously sexy “Magick”. That guitar riff will punch you in the face, I really hope that the Cardinals perform it when I see them live. “Sink Ships” starts out with an acoustic guitar but glides through a bunch of different genres, epitomizing Ryan’s eclectic style. I always have a difficult time describing Ryan Adams to people oblivious to his brilliance, and try to avoid the “alt-country” label most people (and Wikipedia) use. Ryan conforms to no labels. Well, perhaps perfection. The record closes with “Stop”, an incredibly moving song with Ryan singing “a crucifix can never fix enough”, perpetuating the theme which he started on “Fix It”. Overall, it’s a solid record and, like the new CWK album, gets better upon multiple listens. 3.5/5