Where I discuss: ISTUD

One of my biggest complaints about derek webb’s music has been that it peaks too soon. I think I’ve said it before on this blog, but when I compare derek’s music to music by, say, don chaffer, an obvious difference shows itself. Derek’s music is immediately appealing, and I really like it. But then it starts going downhill… it wears off. It gets kind of old. Don’s songs, though, take more effort to appreciate. At first listen they’re “eh, it’s all right”, but then, as you listen to them more, they get better and better. Derek’s music gets less and less spin time the more I get to know the music… don’s, though, gets more and more.

But that has now changed. With his newest album I See Things Upside Down, Derek Webb has finally given me something I have to work at to appreciate. The description of Don Chaffer’s music above fits perfectly with ISTUD. I’ve had it for a week now, and I think I’m just now getting to the point where I can appreciate it.

I’m not sure how to describe the sound of the record. Definitely Wilco influenced. I think it’s more accessible than Wilco, but the general feel of the record is very similar to a (recent) Wilco record.

If the music takes some work to appreciate, the lyrics are meet for it. This album, unlike his first solo record, does not deal strictly with the church. It isn’t a concept record like that one. It includes songs written to the church, to his wife, and, interestingly, written from the perspective of the devil. I think all this makes it a much more enjoyable record. More rounded, more real.