The story doesn't matter anymore and, all in all, I am OK with it. Nowadays, it's all about the arrival point. When The Mendoza Line's Tim Bracy says, "There are things in this world that you can't buy with plastic," the story evaporates around him like he's standing on cement after a summer rain. Instead of worrying about a sense of direction or plot, this album is more about endings and understandings. Very rarely do I hear questions anymore like in soul or R&B songs in the 60s and 70s songs. The Mendoza Line already knows why people do things; they just talk about the consequences.
Most bands do the same thing. It's not as if you can't tell a story without asking questions, but they certainly make things more interesting, right? The journey from point to point should contain an arrival to an answer instead of an idea expounded as if it were an essay. Isn't that the difference between story and essay? Between protest and statement? Between love lost and love thrown away? Somehow, 30 Year Low makes this OK.
Through the short but well-crafted 8 songs, you can't blame the Mendoza Line's embracing of the change in style over the last couple of decades. They include self-indulgences—the male fronted songs focus outward, the female voice inward—and a know-it-all attitude that is suited for a Shakespearian jester or fool telling the truth to blind characters. It would be easy to dismiss them because they seem like an easygoing or affable bunch, but their messages of future folly or present mistakes are as important as any past-tense story of heartache passed off as Americana these days.
And, as if to prove their point, they cover the other side of the equation quite well with a second disc comprised of covers from the olden days—Cole Porter, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, etc.— and some originals and a live track that ask the questions that they feel like answering. "Final Reflections of the Legendary Malcontent," much like the band, is wise beyond its years and performed not to make a statement, but an attachment. This is the point of a statement song. The questions have been answered and re-answered, so people should get it by now. What's the point of bring up those questions again? Instead, The Mendoza Line answers the heartbreak, loss and loneliness that accompany the human condition with straightforwardness. Americana is based on this approach and the Mendoza Line refuses to go changing a good thing. As if to prove it, they throw the beginnings of the genre around to boot. Plus, hearing Shannon McArdle throw around Springsteen's "Tougher Than the Rest" is sweet in and of itself. |