slice of lime

Mourning-filled; despair ridden.

The opening song ‘Smoking Rooms’ is airy like an open mic in a coffee shop, the quiet chatter in the background adding a slice of life normalcy while someone pours their heart out. The quiet, downtrodden nature of this more country-leaning folk album really stabbed me right between the ribs as someone who grew up in the South. ‘Paying Bills At The End of The World’ came for my throat with the lyrical line “I thought that you got out of here in high school, I can’t believe you came back” with the quiet melody in the background. The horns really bring out the quiet resignation in his lyrics.

Even the more upbeat songs like ‘Monongahela Park’ have this – on my knees begging for you not to leave me – a type of cry to them, the desperation behind the song palpable. This album is a show of a chest-aching need from Dan Campbell. The songwriting skills are really shown off here in what is certainly the most Americana take from this project of his, and while there is some exploration it also sticks to familiar themes. I got misty-eyed by ‘Whiplash’, but I had friends that broke as early as ‘Roman Candles’, so proceed with caution. The album in its entirety is a shot of cough syrup for the healing souls trying to find solace within the 40-hour work week.

Tracklist

Smoking Rooms (6/10) ★
Roman Candles (5/10)
Paying Bills At The End of The World (7/10) ★
Monongahela Park (5/10)
Alone at St. Luke’s (5/10)
Whiplash (7/10)
Spitting in the Wind (5/10)
I’m an Albatross (5/10)
Running Out of Excuses (6/10)
In Lieu of Flowers (6/10)
Dead Leaves (7/10)
★ – favorites