Bill Callahan
Resuscitate!
Drag City
Still recognizable to their creator, though noticeably different, sounding more savage and unkempt than they did at birth, the gentle, wandering songs of Bill Callahan’s elegant 2022 tranquilizer YTILAER — that’s reality spelled backwards, of course — have gone rogue. Barely able to contain their wild, newfound energy, the Smog mastermind and his tribe of explorers try wrestling their souls to the ground on the surprisingly raucous new live album Resuscitate! They all fought back, and the crowd liked it.
Where the exquisite YTILAER summoned the rich, natural beauty and quiet eloquence of Nick Drake, at this heady Thalia Hall performance on March 6, 2023, in Chicago, Callahan and guitarist Matt Kinsey, tenor saxophonist Dustin Laurenzi, and drummer Jim White boldly tapped into their noisier, less civilized urges. “First Bird” and “Coyotes” go on raw, spiritual jazz excursions with Pharoah Sanders, electric guitar assuming a stronger, more forceful role and blustery crescendos smashing up the place. When Callahan slyly intones “Yes, I am your lover man” in this squirrelly, drawn-out version of “Coyotes,” he’s no longer the clever, mild-mannered naturalist beloved for his low-key sensitivity and humble intellect. A lusty Lothario emerges, and he’s not to be trusted.
“These songs were mutating faster than usual,” Callahan has been quoted as saying, and they gain momentum here, the angry strum of “Partition” growing louder, more menacing and repetitive, channeling the naked aggression of PJ Harvey. It’s not all violent subversion though, as a transformational “Natural Information” finds some contagious, uplifting joy in Callahan’s humanity and an enlightened, extended jam. And while it remains a mournful, destructive dirge, slowly unfolding in prayerful meditation, “Naked Souls” seems hopeful, the back-alley, dual saxophones raising Callahan from his bended knee.
There are three songs from Callahan’s Gold Record and Apocalypse, as well as Smog’s Rain On Lens, with the dark skronk and noir of “Drover,” the stark rendering of “Pigeons” — introduced by Callahan joking, “Hi, I’m Johnny Cash” — and a bone-deep “Keep Some Steady Friends Around” stalking an audience. Don’t be afraid. Callahan’s just longing for a connection. Please, do Resuscitate!
