Album Review: Bill Callahan - Apocalypse

Whichever way you look at it, the lo-fi scene has been exploding of late. Acts like Woods, The Cave Singers and Bon Iver, though each defined by different sounds, themes and angles, have all shaped themselves outside of the recording studios. A shining light in this scene has been Bill Callahan. Throughout his early work as a solo artist, the years spent in his Smog incarnation and his recent return to solo work, his sound has continued to mature irrespective of whether it was recorded in a bedroom, car or studio. Though he may have instruments, technology and time on his side, Callahan's mentality hasn’t veered all that far from his roots, and the influence of avant-garde folk musician Jandek can still be plainly heard in his songs.
 
Apocalypse is his fourth solo album, and although it hardly represents much of a leap from its predecessor (last year's Rough Travel for A Rare Thing), it demonstrates an artist clearly at ease within the space he has etched out for himself, spending time quietly honing what he is good at. Around a solid frame of finger-picking and waves of dissonant guitars, Callahan employs piano, snares and even the occasional flute to develop and texture the tracks. But the standout element is (again) that instantly recognisable voice: alongside Gil Scott-Heron, Tom Waits and Nick Cave, the bare but resonant tones of his expressive baritone render embellishments unnecessary.
 
Vocal prowess aside, however, arguably the main reason Callahan features so regularly on end-of-year lists across the blogosphere is that his lyrics simply drip with witticisms and irony, emotional weight and sincerity, brutal truths and well-formed ideologies. Ranging from intense personal discourses, interactions with imaginary characters (‘Riding for The Feeling’), songs anchored to vividly-depicted pastoral and rural scenes (‘Universal Applicant’) and fiery political rhetoric (‘Free’s’) Apocalypse is a hauntingly powerful depiction of a voice that is certainly complex – and sometimes antagonistic – but wholly vivid and truthful.