One of the enduring pleasures of the modern indie scene is the continued creativity of Andrew Choi. As St. Lenox, he's recorded a string of albums that occupy their own unique space. It's been more than three years since his last one, but the wait was worth it because Ten Modern American Work Songs is a superbly-realized treatise on careers and life.
"Courtesan" wryly describes the struggles to get an education and work your way up (in Andrew's case, in law school), while the lullaby-ish "Lust for Life" casts a sanguine eye at the climb. "Sometimes I'll ask myself, if the dream was really worth it?" Choi goes one step further and declares "Let's not romanticize our sad years of oppression shall we?" Here, Andrew is deftly using a mix of nostalgia and self-awareness to come to some realization of his own path, and maybe make a statement of sorts about many of his generation who've clawed their way up in a similar fashion.
What's really going on in Ten Modern American Work Songs is an exegesis of the American Dream. In "Rudy", Choi looks at a friend's different path in life, only to turn the spotlight back on himself. There's self-criticism here of the narrator of the song that is both poignant and precise:
"Lately I've been on the fast track. Big city fast talking asshole.
I've got ambition and youth, and a good attitude, but then I Didn't even realize, I forgot the birthday of my mother this year."
Andrew Choi isn't out to excoriate the American dream as much as he's determined to outline the costs of attaining it. Through a combination of autobiography and projection, St. Lenox makes these stories his own, with his personal obvservations morphing into more general broadsides about a generation, or an era's more commonly understood definition of "success" (though even that is open to interpretation).
Near the end of Ten Modern American Work Songs, there are pieces which suggest that work -- that career we've been fighting for -- allows us the space to find contentment. "On Fulfillment" lays out that clearly, while "Luray Caverns" and "Your Local Neighborhood Bar" look at getaways and daily escapes, respectively. The sense of self-realilzation is apparent in the songs, such that Choi deftly blends his own insights with much larger poalints about ambition in general, and aspiration in America more broadly. All these selections feel more nimble and direct than some previous St. Lenox offerings, and that's what makes this such a strong and concise record.
There's a focus here on Ten Modern American Work Songs that makes this a new version of Andrew Choi's Art. While earlier records were highly personal, with Andrew's life supplying material that was both unique and universal in a wonderful way, this album has a wider aim. It's a record that could work well for newcomers to St. Lenox, and one which feels like the next stage in Choi's journey as a musician, and the release on which he graduates from the personal to the universal in a big, bold way. As such, it's highly recommended. And if you're new to St. Lenox, maybe start here and work backwards.
Ten Modern American Work Songs by St. Lenox is out on Friday. Details below.
[Photo: St. Lenox]