Todd Hearon – Impossible Man
Todd Hearon has a new album, Impossible Man, produced by Don Dixon, with Peter Holsapple in the musical mix. Todd Hearon’s journey has already included serious, acclaimed folk songwriting, but with this latest, he’s branching out to combine folk music’s lyrical sensibilities with a rootsy, Americana folk rock vibe with this North Carolina team on board for the duration.
Most songs on this album come from a place of bottoming out and then groping your way through the darkness. In “Deadman’s Cove” Todd’s vocals are up close, low and soul-searching: “why have you forsaken me? I don’t know what you want with a man like me. It’s dark down here in Deadman’s Cove.” There’s been an onslaught, and we seek to find whenever we’ve somehow deserved it. In “A Dark Place” the darkness continues: “I can show you where the bodies are buried … In the dark place, in the deep deep space.”
In “A Looking Glass,” the beat picks up a bit with the hopeful: “I want to walk in the light…” but there’s the self-conscious drawback when “all your love’s in a looking glass, I tell you baby that won’t last the night.” “Guillotine” is a reflection back on a breakup “Just so you know, I didn’t keep a thing – not a rock, not a lock, not a stock, and not a secret, not a ring. I wanted you to go clean.” Just shrug it all off.
In “Too Deep to Feel the Bottom” there’s a dark, driving but shuffly beat, touches of piano, and a sense of purpose in the easy dynamic. “I waded out and now I’m wading in, treading water wondering if I’ll sink or swim, too deep to feel the bottom.” “Looking For a Friend” is easy and optimistic, with the shadows abated temporarily, somewhat, and tones that sound a little like an Allman Brothers tune, “tired of all your lines, looking for a friend.”
Resolution and clarity weave through the songs here amidst the omnipresent darkness. The music is comfortable, spacious and tight, never rushed or forced. Musicians on the album were Todd Hearon on acoustic guitar and vocals; Don Dixon on bass guitar and background vocals; Peter Holsapple on piano, Hammond organ, Mellotron, accordion, mandolin; Rob Ladd on drums and percussion; and Sam Wilson on electric guitar, pedal steel, lap steel, dobro, and chimes.
Impossible Man was produced and mixed by Don Dixon with assistant engineering by Ashley Hicks. It was recorded at Fidelitorium Recordings in Kernersville, and mastered by Tim Phillips at Phillips Sound. The cover photo is by Jilly Bennett Photography and the cover Design is by Denise D. Manseau.
Discover more here on his website: https://www.toddhearon.com/music
