Jake Xerxes Fussell : When I’m Called
There are times when the sheer breadth of musical history can be overwhelming. Even as a music critic and a lifelong obsessive, to call myself an expert in even so much as a single genre feels like a massive overreach. Even my deepest dives barely break the surface. In this regard, the music of Jake Xerxes Fussell is, in many ways, a cheat sheet. You might not have the wherewithal to pour through the history of traditional American folk music but Fussell very much has, and comes prepared with an extensive report of his findings. Though he made his debut back in 2015, the act of interpreting and adapting traditional folk tunes has been a lifelong obsession for Fussell. The son of a folklorist and the protege of many a musical historian, Fussell’s music is not merely steeped in tradition but constructed with its very raw materials. The majority of his music, which now spans five studio albums, is either directly pulled from such sources as the Roud Folk Song Index or draws heavily from such traditional sources. His latest, When I’m Called, is no different.
Fussell’s bona fides are not to be questioned, so the rub will always be whether his thorough examinations truly shine in their own right. For the most part, no one really wants to listen to an historical document, even an impressive one. None of the reverence and, for lack of a better term, effort do us any good if the songs themselves don’t work on their own. Thankfully, When I’m Called never feels like a pure museum piece. Even a song like “Feeing Day,” which Fussell says was inspired by such arcane sources as folklorist Art Rosenbaum’s 1971 Scotland field recordings, feels incredibly lived in, its lazy Sunday morning languor rolling into an afternoon of lapsed responsibility and timeless reverie. Similarly “One Morning In May,” a 17th century English traditional that’s been put to tape by like-minded songwriters James Taylor and Jean Ritchie, feels as natural, instinctual and sentimental as the most sincere of originals.
Still, there is a bit of a distancing effect to the endeavor that Fussell can’t quite shake entirely. For as exhausting as the whole confessional singer/songwriter thing has become, it’s hard not to want for just a bit of divulgence this long until Fussell’s career. His songs often play at a certain intimate register, but things are rarely specific and even less revelatory. He is a cipher in a way even some of his closest contemporaries and collaborators—here highlighted by Blake Mills and Joan Shelley—never are, and this can hold the listener at an unwelcome remove. The facade becomes most notable when the music trends a little close to monotony, as it does in, admittedly, only a few spots on When I’m Called.
For the most part, though, this quibble is just that. Fussell might not have an exhaustive story to tell about himself, but his exploration of music for music’s sake is enticing in its own right. When he finds a way to express his fervor for the long tail of musical history, as he does with such charming glee on his rendition of the positively ancient nursery rhyme “Who Killed Poor Robin,” you can’t help but be swept up right along with him.
Label: Fat Possum
Year: 2024
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Jake Xerxes Fussell : When I’m Called
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