Jim White
Good old southern pantheism has rarely been as catchy, drowsy and tuneful as the best moments on Jim White’s 2007 disc Transnormal Skiperoo. If “Blindly We Go” slouched and seduced in the manner of fellow southern obsessives Lambchop, the song seemed more a triumph of texture than a statement of intent. Still, White has a knack for the kind of woozy insights hemmed in by a vast solipsism that Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner might envy. The Florida-born singer doesn’t make religion sound more interesting than it actually is, but as this six-song EP demonstrates, he’s a funny raconteur.
Recorded live with a minimal band of White, guitarist Patrick Hargon, and bassist Fiona McBain, A Funny Little Cross To Bear reprises three songs from Transnormal Skiperoo. “Plywood Superman” is White at his depressive best, while “Jailbird” gets a gorgeous treatment. “Jim 3:15” makes it clear that White wants nothing to do with Sleepy LaBeef’s version of heaven, but the conceit “a bar is just a church where they serve beer” is hokey. For a man whose great subject is prayer and its inherent limitations, White can seem oddly superficial. As he admits, “See, this is what I do. It’s really sad. I win your love, and then I stab you.”