Omschrijving

Americana, folk, fingerstyle guitar.

“Schlemiel” is Brooklyn-based Nashville-raised (progeny of a “…Jewish, New York Deadhead” no less) session guitar whiz Josh Halper’s second solo LP, and it may be considered an irregular progression from his first record, “Alrightnik”. He has moved from casting himself as a moderately successful but somewhat ridiculous and self-satisfied character to being a hapless and awkward individual, one who may often find themselves as the butt of others’ jokes (witness hidden track ‘High School’).

In his own interpretation “…the schlemiel is the one who spills the soup, the schlimazel has the soup spilled onto him” – two sides of the same coin then as “a well-lived liver lives as both…bearing synchronous tribulation” The decision to title his first two records with unflattering but comedic Yiddish slang is a good measure of the attitude that underpins the record and ultimately makes it one worth persevering with. The clearest interpretation of this is that in his self-deprecating yet still cleverly creative singer-songwriterly way, Halper has himself as all three characters – originally an ‘alrightnik’ but now more of a ‘schlemiel’ and a ‘schlimazel’, which seems to be an enactment of humour as what LW Friedman has called a “Jewish survival tool”.

In this way, we get to the core of the LP – it is a record of contraries, or maybe a record of two (even 6) halves. “Schlemiel” is peppered with self-deprecating lyrical excursions, which we are not expected to take too seriously, in ‘Last Summer Days’ as he wistfully reflects on his world: “The yard wasn’t cut right, it’s growing real fast, Let’s sit here and watch it until it goes back, I don’t have the drive, the tools or the skill, And if I don’t trim it then somebody will” Yet it is also a wistful and profound, occasionally caustic, though always sharply observed evocation of his experiences with life, such as the raw tale of relationship disharmony that is the sonically upbeat ‘Paul & Jane’ – “You were the best thing that ever happened to me, But the worst part of my life, That’s not saying much, is it? Well, neither am I.” We also get both halves, humour and candour, working together as he asks his flatmate to keep the kitchen tidy: “I know you’re an anti-semite, I think I can live with that, But cleaning up an adult’s messes, Is not really where it is at”.

Musically, the record’s halves are a distinctive combination of baroque-sounding finger-picked songs and instrumentals, almost guitar soli in style but with full band accompaniment – if that were even a thing. These intricate yet restrained compositions, including ‘Schlemiel’ and ‘Schlimazel’, hint at his classical training along with the progressive jazz-tinged folk of Kotke or Jansch/Pentangle. In turn, they are leavened by some rousing, pop-inflected, guitar-led folk/country rock that calls to mind sometime pal and collaborator MJ Lenderman, with a vein of Silver Jews – Centromatic – Songs: Ohia off-kilter introspection sewn in.

Halper is undoubtedly a fine and accomplished guitarist; his session work with such artists as Tommy Prine, Lily Hiatt, and Teddy and the Rough Riders attests to this. But the record, while hugely technically accomplished, is no sterile shred-fest. It feels natural and homespun throughout, with an easy, welcoming vibe. Yet at the same time, it is intricately and exquisitely arranged, everything in its place in service of the song. Balancing these potentially contradictory halves, what feels both improvised and structured, is Halper’s final and best trick on ’Schlemiel’. The likelihood that it’s not actually a ‘trick’ at all, just a simple reflection of the joy and legitimacy of the music being offered here, is perhaps its best recommendation.

Tracks:
01. For Chavah
02. And How
03. Use A Friend
04. Schlemiel
05. Paul & Jane
06. Gregory
07. Late Summer Days
08. Schlimazel
09. Sorry! in B Major
10. Numbnuts

Staat er compleet op, 10% pars mee gepost. Met zeer veel dank aan de originele poster. Laat af en toe eens weten wat je van het album vindt. Altijd leuk, de mening van anderen. Oh ja, MP3 doe ik niet aan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuUlOVC0eMc