Following up their debut after five years, Pale Fire are back with a new, robust record. Husbands, out now, is full of sharply-observed rockers that are full of heart and a real zest. One hesitates to pin down all the influences here, but this sounds a bit like The National and bands like that. Still, it's wholly its own thing.
Opener "Satellites" breaks forth with a real exuberance, but it's "King Salt" that soars. James McCann's vocals anchor this, but the piano riffs and horn breaks carry this into the stratosphere. It's elegant, earthy, and altogether catchy. The title cut and lead single is even better. "Husbands" works its way into the ear via big hooks, and a kind of white soul we might have heard decades ago in The Waterboys' stuff, but Pale Fire are more interested in the interpersonal than the spiritual it seems. Elsewhere, while some folk-y touches make "Various Witches" shine, "All The World" nearly roars. On this one Pale Fire seem to have found the perfect way to marry their brand of emotional rock with something roots-y and real.
Produced by Jamie Savage, Husbands does remind one of Savage's own work with The Delgados in spots. There's no chamber rock here, but there's a similarly-minded exploration of natural, unadorned rock-and-roll that sits this band's work comfortably next to that of those early Scottish legends. Still, for all that, so much of Husbands sounds a bit like the best Wilco to me. It's the only comparison that might work, and that means that the music of Pale Fire is distinctive enough to stand on its own, far away from the routine stuff you'll hear elsewhere. Husbands is an earnest record, but it's a lovely one too, and certainly, thanks to Savage's work, one of the warmest sounding recordings you'll hear in 2020.
Husbands is out now.
More details via the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Pale Fire Facebook]