By Kevin Scott
A silky, beautifully crafted slide guitar eases us into the opening track of Perhpast's second album, Revise Your Maps. As the solo project of John Moen, drummer for The Decemberists as well as stints with Stephen Malkmus and Elliot Smith, there is no doubting the style of the record. Moen has plenty of inspirational artists to draw from, and the album quickly settles into a folky pop sound with crisp guitars and brushed snares leading us through ‘Birds Off a Wire’, a song with a pleasing country-tinged melody driven at first by Moen’s impressive falsetto, before a lengthy solo ends the track.
The guitars are heavier on ‘Willamette Valley Ballad’, despite its name. Things move slower with Moen singing “I wonder if you remember me, jumping off the rocks at the falls”, the first of many cherished memories that surface throughout. Lyrically, talks of past loves are nothing new, but there is strength in the way the lyrics and melody combine here. Memories repeat around a heavily distorted chorus. The influence of Elliot Smith is apparent early on, but there are also hints of Wilco in here, and in places, The Byrds.
Moen is a confident front man, having previously fulfilled this role with Maroons. There's a country jauntiness on 'Ramble/Scramble' - it careers on with the beat of a train through the Midwest desert, Moen’s high-pitched vocal showing of his impressive range.
The title track personifies everything that is good with this album, but also its limitations. It's beautifully arranged, lyrically strong, and full of warmth in its inherent melancholy. But, it never does anything more exciting or inventive to make it truly stand out from its peers.
‘Sorry and Shame’ with its prolonged feedback and distortion is more interesting. The melody far more poppy, compete with "awoo, awoo" harmonies as way of a chorus. “I'm basking in my sorry and shame,” sings Moen, and he certainly is if this is anything to go by. It's a refreshing take on regret; to embrace it and take advantage. The honesty gives the recording heart.
The Simon & Garfunkel-style folk driven ‘Find Me’, with long notes held on the double bass and the addition of strings, brings a new dimension, while the slow-paced bluesy sing-a-long ‘Offering the Blues’ is solid, uncomplicated fun and features the best harmonies on the album.
As the album progresses it becomes rockier and the vocals really begin to open up on ‘High Life’, proving conclusively Moen should step out from behind his drum kit more often. This comes before closer ‘Lightlow Nightowl’ takes us back down again in a badly chosen final track that just doesn't enough life about it.
There is a narrative theme of Moen finding himself as a family man after years on the road, and the love and regret that goes with both. It ends positively, so while there is a transformation in character, musically it still feels like single tracks collated for an album, rather a group of songs exploring that theme and linking into each other.
The album’s strength and weakness is that every track is good, yet none are better than that. Don’t take that as an “all filler and no killer" message though. It's stronger than that, just too safe to strive for greatness.
