The acoustic guitar is quite an instrument. An instrument in the most literal sense. A means by which something is achieved, value determined. The level of expression is matched only by the artist wielding it. It draws a rather fine line however. Not faint nor delicate, but fine. One cannot hide insecurities behinds its naked sound. They must be prepared to lay themselves bare if using it by itself. Solo guitarists are easily written off these days, for good reason. Few musicians can captivate an audience with their instrument alone. This takes talent, true admirable talent. One of the few musicians who I know have this talent is friend and musician, Jonah Micah Judy.
Recently I had a new, soon-to-be-released album sent to me by him. I've been a fan of his music for as long as I've know him and I was eager to dig into his new offerings. He has flown well under the radar, but that's not for lack of trying. Spearheading several regional tours and releasing a small yet impressive body of work, Judy has done what it takes to be noticed. This will be his third studio release (after 2007's Milk Sink and 2009's follow up EP Taste Escape) titled Night, the Different Painting.
The first song, "Lights Won't Quit" immediately hits me with a haunting nostalgia. the plucked notes below his strained voice together sound as if it came from a movie that I should have seen but never did. It's slow and languid and yet possesses a pleading energy that urges the song forward, into the song as well as deeper into the album.
"Under the Well" poses a shift with a startling introduction from Judy's deep baritone. This is a song that get's darker with each listen. I feel like I am the man under the well as I watch a shadowy figure far above singing this ballad whilst shoveling me with dirt. The darkness doesn't end there. On one of the latter tracks, "Swine", Judy sings, "The pigs I've known are good enough to eat there own." With his tongue firmly in his cheek, Judy then continues by singing the chord structure of the song, "C, E, A. C, E, G." It's between the suspicion that there is more to this and the unease you feel from Judy's whistling in the middle of the song, you find something that you can't put your finger on, something that raises the hair on the back of your neck.
His skill for mood approaches his prowess on the guitar. "Selu" begins with a serpentine chord structure, relying on droning harmonics. Then there is a shift. Simple arpeggios aggregate together with light flourishes and those same drones until there is another shift. Judy then sings against the hurried plucking highlighted by simple notes that move up. The bars evoke the great piece "Suite Española" by composer Isaac Albéniz, made popular for guitar by Andrés Segovia. Judy doesn't match the speed or urgency of this suite, but the simultaneous plucking of fast and slow notes is not something you hear very often on solo singer/songwriter records.
The thing that I've loved most about Judy's music is his guttural, primal growl. His voice can dig out a deep aggression that makes us feel at our most animalistic. One can find this style in much of modern Hard Rock music but an unlikely paring can be found in the diminutive accoustic guitar and a murderous howl. When your words are paved with gravel on top of a base already at its limits, no one can deny you.
Judy reaches this best on the song "The Uncany Indifference." Dissonant chords resonate harshly until the vocals kick in. Instead of letting his voice become a shriek, he keeps it carefully controlled in its chaos. By doing so, he retains the lower registers of his voice, keeping it's power. Even at the climax of the song, when he allows those notes to turn upward into an actual shriek, that force is still there.
I must remark that that Judy has never sounded better than what he does here. The true intention of his sound can be realized. Milk Sink possessed brilliant songs but the production edged on the buzzier side with hallow overtones. Night, the Different Painting is clear and warm. Michea strikes an almost perfect balance between his voice and his instrument. I was able to ask him what his goal is when crafting a sound in the studio. He said that he always wants to represent as true as possible the live experience. Over the years I've been privileged to listen to him play in intimate settings. When listening to this record I feel like I'm next to him as he plays. I would say this, then, is the achievement of his vision.
The only qualm I have is with the song "Gunpowderlegs." It's the only song on the record played on the electric guitar. The distortion is dirty, his voice is growling and the formula is such to make for a solid rock song. Ironically, by itself , the tone of the guitar doesn't provide enough power to feed the aggression that the song deserves. I believe the effect would have been best achieved had Michea stuck with his acoustic but played the life out of it. And yet, I keep coming back to the song. A testament to the fact that there is something here, something worth listening to.
What Jonah Michea Judy has given us in Night, the Different Painting (Disk 1 of 2) is his most fully realized and well-rounded album yet. What his has accomplished is proof that he is ready for a larger audience. His solid songwriting and deft handling of varying acoustic and vocal dynamics makes him very interesting to listen to and should earn a permanent place on your iPod. He is an artist you should put on your radar and track carefully.
