Lands & Peoples

You’ll never find as committed a multitasker as Bill Mallonee. That’s simply a fact. Formerly leader of the much respected but sadly departed (for now, anyway) Vigilantes of Love, Mallonee releases an average of at least one album every three months, spreading his message by word of mouth and making them mostly available on his website billmallonnemusic.bandcamp.com. 

Nevertheless, it’s an auspicious occasion when he releases a physical disc in the form of Lands & Peoples. A mix of a travel journal and a statement of spirituality, with a call to arms as far as positive thinking is concerned tossed in for good measure, the album finds Mallonee’s forlorn vocals at the helm of an increasingly assertive set of songs. “Look at all of the diamonds & look at all the dust,” he sings on “Hide Me in the Darkness” while laying out his statement of purpose. “Look at all the boom, look at all the bust; Look at all the vistas of the golden eternities; It’s just pulling’ on boots & rollin’ up your sleeves…” 

Indeed, while the mood often seems to allude to the twilight on the horizon, Mallonee and wife/collaborator Muriah Rose keep their sites set on the promise of the dawn. The steadfast deliberation of songs like “Steering Wheel is a Prayer Wheel” and the meditative ballads “String of Days” and “Northern Lights & Southern Cross” notwithstanding, there’s an uplifting, almost anthemic drive that steers the album overall, manifest in the upbeat attitude of the title track and “Hope the Kids Make It Out”  in particular. Hardly the weary road tale it could otherwise have been, Mallonee keeps his consistency intact and offers an album that trumpets the triumph of faith over futility. It’s a stirring statement indeed.