Judson Claiborne – When a Man Loves an Omen
La Société Expéditionnaire – 13 November 2020
Sometimes the most subversive thing you can do is make a record that sounds so familiar it’s impossible to resist. That’s definitely true of When a Man Loves an Omen by Judson Claiborne. Everything sounds remarkably familiar, until you examine the lyrics where everything you know is called into question. The combination allows the Judson Claiborne to examine things you never expected to find in something that sounds so comfortable.
The funereal drum and organ at the head of Twenty Dollar Quartet establishes a funereal pace undercut by acoustic guitar. The lyrics deal with Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins. Yet not in quite the way you’d expect. There’s a lot of destructive machismo on display in a line like, “Didn’t Jerry say that a woman should be trained just like a bird dog?” The guitar comforts while the lyrics are as sharp as a razor.
Frontman for Judson Claiborne, Christopher Salveter, developed the concept behind the band while on a three-month bicycle trip across Southeast Asia. His sense of storytelling became the focal point, and the stories are nothing short of exceptional. Against a background of guitar and banjo, Conditionals deals with his desire for a vasectomy. The reasons are fairly obvious, “So many people I meet / So many things I see / Make me want to have a vasectomy.” Salveter states the kind of things that are quite often left unspoken.
Bandmates Salveter, Jamie Topper and Josh Lantzy recorded the EP over the course of three days while being hung up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania due to an ice storm. Making the most of their time, the five songs came together quickly. Alive in Time, an instrumental, works off a bed of piano, with engineer Patrick McGee adding synth to the proceedings.
The final song, The Trimmergrant tells a tale of the lawlessness at the heart of the Redwood Curtain in California. Marijuana trimmers in the region just seem to disappear, victims of a drug culture run amok. These are tales that deserve to be heard and Salveter, along with the other members of Judson Claiborne tell them in ways that are both unexpected and exceptionally beautiful.
From beginning to end Judson Claiborne show the ability to transfix the listener while keeping them slightly off-balance at the same time. There’s a sense of majesty in their magic, and an ability to upend expectations at the same time. As a result, When a Man Loves an Omen is one of the most compelling EPs of the year.
https://judsonclaiborne.com/music
Photo Credit: Alyce Henson