Nearly two decades into a career that has included fronting Will & the Bushmen, co-leading the Bis-Quits and playing guitar with Todd Snider, Will Kimbrough still plays pure pop for grownups.
Experienced enough to not be blindsided by love, life and his failings, the singer-guitarist writes of relationships you must work at, love that makes you feel special or like crap, jobs that take you from home, and the bewildering dissatisfaction of having a good thing and not knowing why you’re not “Happier”.
“Piece Of Work”, a roaring, sassy, mission statement set to a martial beat and a scratch-guitar riff, sums up what you need to know about Kimbrough: “I’m all dumbfounded, stubborn as an ass, sharp as an arrow in a pile of glass. I’m a sweetheart, genius, reckless jerk. Lord have mercy, I’m a piece of work.”
Nothing else here is quite that good, but there are other characters worth getting to know, such as the worthless, weak creep who knows that “when my baby holds me, I’m the champion of the world”; and the sometimes infuriating woman of “I Love My Baby”, who “knows my weakness and flaws/She points them out, well, just because.”
Kimbrough serves it up in a voice piercing and weary, like John Lennon or Randy Newman, and with music that goes from rock to country shuffle to string-backed piano pop decked in “ooh” and “ahh” backing choruses.
Home Away shows a pro at work, knowing what he wants to say and how to say it. And though it’s about grownups, it works because it makes you feel like a kid.