Always criminally underrated, and usually erroneously tagged in terms of genre, Cass McCombs is, at his most basic, a singer-songwriter. Given the complexity of his material, it made sense he ended up on 4AD early on. He's kept busy since then, veering into a slightly less complicated form of songcraft than what we heard on those first 4AD sides. For those who want a look back, here's good news: the seminal label is reissuing the first three Cass McCombs releases: the EP Not the Way, and the albums A and PREfection.
Not the Way (2002), recorded with drummer and engineer Jason Quever (later of Papercuts) has a nice low-key vibe about it. The songs have a timeless, lived-in quality about them, with the title cut charming in a direct manner, even as "Opium Flower" strikes out for the sort of territory covered on Galaxie 500 records. If this one is more drone than "Tugboat", that's fine; Cass has a different vision here, and it's one which takes the affectations of folk forms through a kind of post-rock process of dilapidation. This is the music one makes when one's got nothing left to lose.
A (2003) opens with one of Cass' best, and best known songs in "I Went to the Hospital". It's a fantastic track, with lyrics that are as memorable as the down-tempo pleasures of the descending hooks of the melodic line. The instrumentation gets far more complex here, especially on the chamber pop of "AIDS in Africa", a true gem of a number. That one, mirrored by the faster "What Isn't Nature", places the voice of Cass in a wonderland of sounds that are both heirs to the rustic Americana of Grant Lee Buffalo and the disheveled artistry of Stephen Malkmus. McCombs makes this all his own, however, imbuing cuts like "Meet Me Here at Dawn" with a winning vulnerability, or others, such as "My Pilgrim Heart", with a slight Beatle-esque vibe in the manner of the best Elliott Smith stuff.
PREfection (2005) is where things get 4AD-ish. "Sacred Heart" soars on the back of what sounds like a clutch of separate hooks all being played at once, even as the opener "Equinox" unfolds with the layered richness of material on that wonderful-but-nearly-forgotten Kendra Smith (Opal) album on this very same imprint so long ago. Thankfully, Cass has a knack for writing material that works well in both stripped down and ornate settings, such that even with the rather lush placements of these compositions on PREfection, things work.
I've listened to these reissues and asked myself yet again: "Why don't I pay more attention to Cass McCombs?" It's a question I've thrown at myself more than once in the last decade or so. Cass McCombs could be one of those artists who just shows up with a guitar and sings songs that rip your heart out, but thankfully on these first three records, he veered away from that. The material, simple and direct and affecting, works very well when dressed up. There's a weight to this stuff, particularly on the excellent PREfection, that suggests that McCombs deserves more praise, like in the manner of someone like Father John Misty. Nothing here feels too easy, which is something to highlight when talking about a singer-songwriter; never once did a song seem too obvious, too simple. That's what drew me into to this set of material. And that's why these reissues are so highly recommended.
Not the Way, A, and PREfection by Cass McCombs are all out now via 4AD.
Cass McCombs, along with White Denim, is playing the Aslin Beer Festival in nearby Alexandria, VA, on September 28. Details here.
[Photo: Steve Gullick]