Irreconcilable differences of ambition.
By now, fans of folk duo The Civil Wars — or anyone who regularly checks in to read articles by NPR — are familiar with that phrase as the supposed deathblow to the short-lived but superb musical career of songwriters Joy Williams and John Paul White. After breaking up in the middle of their first European tour, the duo has now come out with a, for lack of a better term, posthumous eponymous album.
It’s a breakup album, to be sure. Tension, regret, frustration, hope, love and loss are all palpable for the duration of “The Civil Wars,” and this set of songs is a powerhouse; it could go down as one of the best albums of its kind of all time.
The first song on “The Civil Wars” sets the tone as only this pair can. “The One That Got Away” immediately exudes a sense of disquiet, and Joy Williams — who sings lead vocals for the majority of the album — is on point, singing in near-perfect pitch. The track is filled with regret and frustration as she sings, “Wish you were the one that got away.”
The next song on the album, “I Had Me a Girl,” continues in this same tone, but features John Paul White more prominently on vocals. Like the track before it and the album as a whole, this song focuses on the fleeting nature of love and regret at its passing. Amidst swirling acoustic guitar, White sings one of the best lines on the album: “I had me a girl / Like cigarette smoke / She came and she went.”
Perhaps the best and most devastating song on the album, however, is “Same Old Same Old,” throughout which both Williams and White sing about regret over a relationship that has run its course, though love remains: “Do I love you / Oh I do / And I’m going to till I’m gone.” Considering the circumstances surrounding this album, it must have been brutally difficult to record, which makes it all the more brutal to listen to. It’s that tangible sense of loss on this album that separates it from others in the genre and makes it such a worthwhile listen.
As the album moves along, the duo’s well-known skill at harmonizing is on full display. And though it would have been nice to hear a bit more of John Paul White’s vocals on this album, Joy Williams is largely able to avoid sliding into the occasionally difficult-to-understand whisper singing that she was at times guilty of on the band’s previous release “Barton Hollow.”
And while the majority of the album is filled with a sense of loss and regret, some songs course with hope and give the sense that there is a chance for this duo after all, somewhere down the line. For as the pair sings at the culmination of a majestic build in a cover of Smashing Pumpkins’ “Disarm,” “The killer in me is the killer in you.”
All in all, the album is nearly perfect. Any fan of folk, country, indie or rock music will have a lot to like on “The Civil Wars.” It’s sad, it’s angry and it’s one of the most powerful albums of the year.
Email Bain at abain@media.ucla.edu.