Usually tales of band self-destruction are left to huge rock outfits. People expect bands like Poison to implode, or Motley Crue to cancel a tour due to egos and infighting. It is not really expected of a group like Civil Wars, who exploded out of the gate with their debut full length Barton Hollow. It made several best of lists (including mine), earned them a few Grammys, and seemed to ensure that The Civil Wars would become huge when their next album was released.
The Civil Wars is that next album. Only instead of embracing folk-rock glory, Civil Wars members Joy Williams and John Paul White cancelled a UK tour and went their separate ways. There’s been no detailed report on why they broke up, only vague press releases citing “ego” and “ambition”. So now what? If they can’t get it together, The Civil Wars will be wasting one hell of an album. This is a focused record, showing real growth both in the songwriting and orchestrations.
Trading in the low-fi, mainly acoustic, ideals of Barton Hollow, The Civil Wars branch out with louder guitars, and more textured song structures. Take the first single, “The One That Got Away”. It captures, perfectly, the ache of Civil Wars songs but never sacrifices the interplay between Williams and White’s vocals. Instead, the song expands slowly, the music reaching a heavier guitar crescendo alongside the vocals. Don’t worry, this isn’t a rock album, Civil Wars hold true to the folk sound, they just turn the amps up a little higher.
White releases his preacheresque pipes on “I Had Me A Girl”, another tune driven by distorted guitar. Williams opens up vocally here. She powers right over the guitar line without losing the righteous, down home, vibe of the tune. Civil Wars ride these extremes throughout this new album. “Same Old Same Old” is more akin to Barton Hollow. Raspy, melancholy vocals, quietly narrating a dire love story over subtle guitar work. “Dust To Dust” brings in a metronome drumbeat that absolutely makes the song. Williams voice is gorgeous here, filled with heartache and longing. When she sings “They don’t fool me, you’ve been lonely too long”, it’s heartbreaking.
Vocally, the real star here is Williams. “Devils Backbone”, where she croons about a bad boy love affair, is a great showcase of what she can do. It’s almost an alt-country Pixies tune, using loud, quiet, loud, to create the emotional impact. Civil Wars don’t skimp on the latter part of the album. “Oh Henry” brings back the distorted guitar, but keeps it tied down beneath Williams voice. It might rise and fall, but only to build tension, never to overpower the song.
Oddly, there is no shattering showstopper on The Civil Wars. Barton Hollow had “I’ve Got This Friend”, “To Who It May Concern” and the absolutely devastating “Falling”. Don’t get me wrong, the songs are wonderful, some flawless, but there isn’t a game changer on this album. It could be that The Civil Wars is more of a complete album, a collection of songs creating one idea, where as Barton Hollow felt more like a bunch of single tunes put together. It’s not a matter of which is better, more that I found myself listening to the new material for start to finish. On Barton Hollow I would often repeat certain songs again and again.
Aside from a few misfires, like a boring and overly dramatic-pause filled cover of Smashing Pumpkin’s “Disarm”, or the trite and predictable “From This Valley”, Civil Wars knock this record out of the park. It’s too bad Williams and White decided to take a powder, especially with an album like The Civil Wars on the horizon.
