When
Bella Union
issued
Introducing Karl Blau
in 2016, it was in actuality anything but; he had been making records for 20 years. Produced by
Tucker Martine
, who assembled it as a showcase for
Blau
's voice, it was his 21st album, populated with gloriously sung and arranged country covers by
Tom T. Hall
,
Don Gibson
Townes Van Zandt
Waylon Jennings
, and more. Given the artist's reputation for eclecticism, the songs fit him like a glove.
Out Her Space
is a return to his own quirky and alluring form of music-making. Back in 2009,
recorded country-psych band
the Great White Jenkins
, fronted by
Matthew E. White
. Three years later, when
White
created the
Spacebomb
label (named for his orchestral-soul house band project), he called on
once more. The resultant album was
's
Big Inner
. Having heard
's demos for this set,
returns the favor by not only playing guitar but bringing
the Spacebomb House Band
along.
Megafaun
pianist
Phil Cook
, various other horn and string players, and backing vocalists also contribute, with
returning to producing himself.
contrasts with its predecessor in employing a melange of soul, funk, jazz, indie, Afro-pop, and yes, country in these eight songs. First single "Slow Children" is a case in point: its sweet pop melody is framed by Nigerian and Beninese juju-styled guitars, hovering brass, layers of synthetic and organic percussion, and an infectious hook. It's followed by second single "Poor the War Away," which juxtaposes hypnotic dubwise rhythm and bass tracks with a slippery pop melody, thin, reedy rapping, and classically arranged horns, with
adding angular guitar breaks. "Beckon" commences on a rubbery funk backbeat with organs, Nigerian highlife guitars, squiggly synths, and a monotonous snare and hi-hat combo. Halfway through, it dissects itself and floats into spacewise dub with pianos and strings flitting in and out of the mix, though the backbeat remains. "Blue as My Name" is a decidedly straighter shuffle, but its horn arrangements evoke late-'60s country, as the swampy guitar bump of
Creedence Clearwater Revival
competes with
Lee Hazelwood
's production aesthetic and
Love
's loopy psychedelia. The set's longest jam, "Where Ya Goin' Papa," is a mini-suite of its own at nearly nine minutes. Its
Stax
-cum-Muscle Shoals backbeat is the jumping-off point for an extended exploration of disco, jazz, gospel, funk, and dub, held together by
's mellifluous singing and a female backing chorus adding an otherworldly dimension to the coda.
Despite its evocation of many source inspirations all applied in unusual ways,
is pure
. He never lets his ambitious charts get in the way of his melodies, ample spaciousness, and warm multivalent textures. Add to this excellent core songwriting and inspired playing from all involved, and this date follows
like a falling domino. All killer, no filler. ~ Thom Jurek