John Wesley Harding – Awake – Review

John Wesley Harding

Awake (Zero Hour)
by Katy Shea

It’s hard to imagine that one with a voice so reminiscent of Elvis Costello could make music that so… isn’t. John Wesley Harding‘s Awake is a folk album, although his take on the genre may not be what you’d expect. The lyrics are introspective and generally witty, though sometimes self-consciously so, but the quirky and revealing song ideas come across as sincere efforts at real communication. JWH creates an atmosphere on this CD that drags you into its warm grasp no matter how much you want to resist. He is very much the consummate “singer-songwriter guy,” in that his show is himself and that is somehow enough.

While songs like “Sweat Tears Blood And Come,” are almost embarrassing in their honesty, and although there are a few other tracks that make me cringe and shake my head, I cannot deny that this man is talented, perceptive, and aware enough to cultivate interest with just his words and simple melodies. The bare-boned ballad, “Poor Heart,” is truly ethereal and moving, while other tracks employ more intense production, sampled noise, inventive percussion, etc., but always the lyrics take precedence. A departure from what I would ordinarily enjoy, the songs that grabbed me, did so profoundly.