ALBUM REVIEW: Leslie Jordan’s ‘The Agonist’ Tells of a Family’s Lost Soul

After Leslie Jordan’s estranged grandfather died in 1995, her family came into possession of a box of his writings – journals, poetry, and short stories – that was compiled over 30 years of his life. Though the Nashville singer-songwriter barely knew the man who had abandoned his family decades earlier, she became intimately acquainted with his most private thoughts by investigating these revealing documents. Ultimately, his words inspired Jordan to create The Agonist, a heart-rending tale of one person’s long, troubled quest for meaning.

A veteran of the Christian music scene, with two Grammy nominations on her resume, Leslie Jordan (no relation to the actor of the same name) makes a striking first foray into secular songs with this haunting album. The Agonist is a beautiful folk-pop collection that showcases her gentle singing, echoing the bittersweet grace of Aoife O’Donovan. It’s produced by Kenneth Pattingale of The Milk Carton Kids, who provide backing harmonies on two tracks. Other notable participants include Sara Watkins (backing vocal), Joachim Cooder (percussion, kalimba), Harrison Whitford (guitar), and Gabe Witcher (fiddle), but all the contributors are first-rate.

The Agonist kicks off with the melancholy title track, setting the stage for the saga of a man who “never had a good thing he didn’t squander.” Proposing to follow the protagonist on his Jack Kerouac-inspired wanderings, the song warns, “When you chase a fantasy / Reality is a casualty.”

What follows is not so much a linear narrative as a series of vignettes linked by a deep sadness and sense of disappointment. “The Fight” captures the trauma of a violent clash between mother and child, while “Athensville” depicts the tug-of-war between selfish freedom and stifling security. Containing the admission, “What I choose doesn’t always make sense,” the chilling “Truth or Consequence” flirts with the idea of nothingness as a way to inner peace, saying, “To disappear in darkness night / Surrender up this lonesome fight / All is not well but all is right / Take me there.” Amidst the Tex-Mex groove of “Loved Me for a Little While,” a “young and foolish” man looks back on the romance he ruined.

The gorgeous “All Things” closes the album on a mellow note of redemption (“You finally learned to love”), yet doesn’t dispel the dark clouds that gathered before. Eloquent and clear-eyed, The Agonist could be the starting point for a deeper exploration of the story Jordan has fashioned to such memorable effect. In any case, it’s a gem.

Leslie Jordan’s The Agonist is due out April 25 via Leslie Jordan Music.