Rocky Votolato | Hospital Handshakes
Earlier this week I mentioned how the Rocky Votolato song “Let Go” from the Kindred Spirit split EP with Chuck Ragan sounded like an old Ryan Adams song. The slow pace, the presence of drums, the seemingly elongated southern delivery reminded me much more of the songs from Heartbreaker & Gold than anything Rocky had released. And yes, I know he’s actually from the PNW, but he did live in Dallas until he was 13 so…maybe there’s fittingly a little twang to his voice at times. And yes, I really shouldn’t know that. Man, the internet is a weird place that allows for way too much creeping. ANYWAY. Now that I’ve listened to Votolato’s latest full length, Hospital Handshakes, I have a few more songs that remind me of Ryan Adams: namely, all of them.
Normally I’m disappointed when an artist goes pretty far away from the musical style that I love them for but Hospital Handshakes serving as Ryan Adams, Part II is kind of hard to object to; it being my favorite album of 2014 and all. There’s this moody ’80s quality to both albums that I never knew I would be so drawn to but for some reason it worked not once but twice. I think if Chuck Ragan or someone tries it next album we might have jumped the shark but I can dig this as a sequel…even if it was from an entirely different artist. And hey, why not? Aliens was still great with James Cameron taking over for Ridley Scott. This is basically the same damn thing.
Plus, I can’t see Ryan Adams making his own sequel to 2014’s self titled effort. His album that preceded it (Ashes & Fire) had an entirely different sound, and really Adam’s closest sounding record was probably Love is Hell, recorded a whole decade earlier. So leave it to Votolato, who I didn’t know was allowed to plug in, to make Hospital Handshakes out of nowhere. The last time Votolato had a full band on an album was 2009’s Brag and Cuss, which was solid, but not a huge departure from his other stuff. Take Rocky’s voice, acoustic guitar, and harmonica but add some drums, a sprinkling of piano, and some pedal-steel. Boom. Full band, Votolato style. And it was good. It worked for him, especially live since every asshole attending a live show has trouble shutting up for an acoustic set. People are simple. They need drums to grab their attention (and drown them out).
Hospital Handshakes is full band in an entirely different way. “Boxcutter” leads us off with a haunting mix of Votolato’s voice, keys, and a programmed drum beat that evokes late era Death Cab for Cutie. This is not a coincidence since long time (and now former) DCFC member and producer Chris Walla is responsible for the production on this album. One song in and I’m already a bigger fan than Walla’s last offering, Kintsugi. To be fair he knew he was leaving and we all have the tendency to check out at some point. I didn’t do work for the last 8 months that I was at my last job. Actually, I never did work. But Walla and Votolato, man, they got down to business in creating this album. And I, for one (how many could I really be for?), couldn’t be a bigger supporter even if it doesn’t sound like same artist I’ve come to love since Suicide Medicine. The 2nd track, “The Hereafter”, is the most uptempo and radio-friendly I’ve heard Rocky, and it’s one of the best (Ryan Adams) songs I’ve heard this year. The title track which follows is a song that Votolato admits is built around the drum track first and has female vocals backing up the bridge. Where the hell was this guy all these years? And am I a traitor for liking this new sound?
The fourth track is “Royal” and is probably the only song on the record that I don’t love but it’s hard for me to pry apart the music from the overrated Wes Anderson movie that is the obvious inspiration for this song. But it’s immediately followed by “White-Knuckles”, a punch (wink) delivered to Votolato’s struggle against depression. While I still find the melancholy acoustic dives into the depths of sadness on Makers incredibly powerful, I can also embrace this fiery songwriting assault on the depression that tries to eat at us everyday. It’s a great two and half minute jam that (not to sound toooo repetitive….) reminds me a little of Adam’s faster songs like “Beautiful Sorta” or “Shakedown on 9th Street”. Meanwhile, “Rumi” is a little slower but has more sonic energy (how old am I?) than thought possibly from Votolato. I mean, I know he used to be in a band called Waxwing but…oh yeah, that explains it. Just like Ragan used to play it harder and faster in Hot Water Music, Votolato is not only the painfully intimate troubadour but he can rock out when he needs to. He just needed Chris Walla (oddly) and his brother Cody (of Blood Brothers fame) to remind him.
But while Waxing had this more raw, post-punk sound, Hospital Handshakes is a more polished straight forward rock album. The 2nd half of the album continues this unexpected (but enjoyable) full band sound with uptempo songs like “A New Son” and “This is My Work”, but also has a couple of brooding ballads “Sawdust and Shavings” and “So Unexpected” that could have worked on most other Votolato albums if only they were arranged differently. With the production here they still sound to me like they would fit squarely on the imaginary Ryan Adams sequel but they are important reminders that lyrically this is still the same artist responsible for everything from Burning My Travels Clean to Television of Saints. On the album closer, “The Finish Line”, Votolato puts his stamp on it and it’s one that I doubt Adams would ever touch. Even though he’s rocked out more on this album than he has in the studio for the last decade, his strength in writing softer, contemplative songs about death (self-induced or otherwise) is unmatched. And because of that, while I really enjoy this album, I won’t be disappointed if the emotionally draining folk songs come back on the next album. We all love to rock out, but sometimes we all need a good cry too.
Bake
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[…] Rocky Votolato | Hospital Handshakes – Votolato is typically at his best when he’s singing strained and depressing songs over his […]