John McCabe
It Rings A Bell
Subjangle
Three albums into his tenure with the Subjangle label, Laguna Niguel, California based John McCabe is one of 'those artistes' that fosters an immediate connection.
Perhaps it is the languid alt country jangle-pop inflected sound that immediately resonates or just that his music is an instant reminder of the college rock / jangle-pop halcyon days of the late 80's and early 90s, either way something plainly clicks with his fans who stay loyal with every release.
This "It Rings A Bell" album, released two years after his critically acclaimed "Adorned" release, unfurls new layers of intimacy to his musical template as tracks best represented by the title track, "Clench", "Tables" and "Gila Bend" sees him purposefully withdraw from his signature jangle rock sound and move towards a laconic, almost storytelling aesthetic that enables every lyric and jangly riff to resonate with extra meaning as it is freed from rock clutter.
However, as if to compensate for the his new found 'beautiful sedate' their is the addition of the whirring fuzz-pop found in "Trees", "Wrong Angel", "Ruins" and "Tired" that hints at Guided By Voices, albeit steeped in McCabe's glorious use of absolute no-fi production.
It Rings A Bell peels another layer from the John Mcabe musical lexicon to reveal his finest album yet.
You might also like
