Review: Bill Callahan - "Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle"

9.2

From the opening track, “Jim Cain”, it is clear that “Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle” is going to be a different kind of album than the comparatively sunny “Woke On A Whaleheart”. Callahan states on the opener: “I used to be darker/then I got lighter/then I got dark again” ushering in a sorrowful mood so frequently employed by Callahan during his Smog days. Maybe as a fanbase we should do as much as possible to keep Callahan miserable because “Sometimes” is his most cohesive and brilliant work since his landmark “A River Ain’t Too Much To Love”.

Presumably this is a break-up album. The woman that brought Callahan the joy that was so visible on “Woke On A Whaleheart” has flown the nest, and rejoined the flock of thirty-something singles migrating into middle age. Bird imagery is everywhere on “Sometimes” and gives the album a cohesive, tight feel. From the third track, “The Wind And the Dove”, until the second to last track, “Invocation of Ratiocination” birds are the focus of each track. Birds seem to represent change, and unsurprisingly, flight for Callahan. But the bird milieu goes far beyond that, to ideas of nesting and the anonymity of the flock. Callahan was always a masterful lyricist and his ability to convey the collapse of a relationship through bird imagery is impressive. Unlike other break-up albums, The Mountain Goat’s “Get Lonely” comes to mind, the sad nature of the subject-matter does not hinder the musicality of the album. There is a compelling mixture of mid-tempo tracks like “Eid Ma Clack Shaw” and “My Friend” with slow burners like “Too Many Birds” and “Jim Cain”.

The single misstep on this album is that it is weak towards the end. “Invocation of Ratiocination” is a two-minute song that is reminiscent of angel’s gargling and adds nothing to the album. The closer, “Faith/Void”, is relatively upbeat compared to the rest of the album and gives the album a good sense of closure. However, at 9:44 it is just too long and its lyrics are entirely too repetitive (mostly “It’s time to put God away” ad nauseam). It’s not a terrible song, but compared to the strong beginning and middle of the album, it seems like a let down.

Even without a spectacular finish, “Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle” is one of the years strongest albums and reestablishes one of folk’s most consistent songwriters as a force to be reckoned with.