I first heard the "Last Pale Light in the West" in an episode of "The Walking Dead" years ago. I wrote down the title and forgot about it, before recently rediscovering the song and unwittingly stumbling upon a soundtrack for a global pandemic.
The artist, Ben Nichols, is apparently best known for fronting Lucero, an alt-country band based out of Memphis. His voice has been described as "smoky," and that's an apt adjective for his haunting vocals -- lending an ideal resonance to this music.
Released in 2009 on Liberty & Lament (a phenomenal name for a record label, by the way), "Last Pale Light in the West" is an acoustic concept album Nichols created as a side project. The work is based on Cormac McCarthy's epic novel "Blood Meridian" (editor's note: my review be long), with six of the seven songs named for characters in the book.
Now, I'll be honest, I did not realize the connection between the book and the album until recently (like 10 minutes ago). But it does make sense that one of my all-time favorite novels ("The Scooties" 2010 Book of the Year!) has merged with some of my favorite new music.
In addition to the title song, other standouts include the surprisingly peppy "Davy Brown," the knee-jumping "Tobin," the eerie "Toadvine," and the hypnotic "Chambers." The entire album is of a piece and meant to paint a vivid picture.
Mission accomplished, Ben Nichols.
And mission accomplished, Cormac McCarthy.
Two kindred spirits from different artistic inclinations have somehow found each other through words, music, and vision. The result from Nichols's dimension is an irresistible album that sets a story to stunning music.
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