The Bird Calls “Take Leave”
Everyone has to grow up sometime (or that’s what they keep telling me – unsuccessfully, it would seem). But making music fights that life commandment at every turn. Writing lyrics and recording songs for money (because everyone needs to eat) seems a fool’s errand, especially in a time where virtually every note of music is instantly available – for free – seemingly before the STOP button on the recording is even pressed. But obtusely brave writers and musicians keep at it, providing us a soundtrack, along with words of advice, solace, hope or sometimes just a way to forget. Singer-songwriter Sam Sodomsky is one of those folks who refuses to let at least a part of himself grow up. He’s been recording music for two decades (seriously – most would’ve quit a long time ago), and he’s released a number of his folk-tinged records under the moniker The Bird Calls. His latest, Take Leave, is a low-key affair (just two musicians and an additional pair of vocalists) that finds a not-so-young man at a point where the biggest question is, “What’s next?”
Take Leave’s first track, “Some Bands,” is evidence that Sodomsky sees a more basic reason than (shrugs shoulders) “the music business” that people pull away from making music – the human inclination to move on. Over gentle slide guitar from producer/collaborator Ryan Weiner, Sodomsky empathizes with those who simply can’t do it anymore – “Some bands break up/Some stay together/Ice sculptures in the front yard/Melting in the sun.” Like adulthood itself, it takes compromise – and a lot of closing your eyes and plunging forward – to sustain this particular dream – “The things you hate/And the things you tolerate/Evaporate/Blend together.” The “dream,” as it turns out, is long-gone – now, it’s simply a matter of temerity, and the wild belief that something beautiful can still come out of that grind.
“To Everything There Is a Ceiling,” the album’s lead single, first caught my ear with its patient jangle and an unassuming guitar solo from Sodomsky, along with its acceptance of the general state of things – “Came to pay my dues, but somebody got my tab/Can’t afford the blues, so I catch ‘em if I can.” The singer also takes us back to AP English class in “Ethan Frome,” an organ-tinged tune that reflects Edith Wharton’s assertion that the greatest regret is inaction – “Hard enough to wait another day/Harder still to go” (Sodomsky also serves as a writer and senior editor at Pitchfork, so his appreciation for writing is either a curse or just coded into his soul). For me, though, the greatest emotional resonance – the true weight of adulthood – comes from “Glow Like Me.” Beginning with Sodomsky’s nylon string guitar before adding keys and Weiner’s drums, the song piles on the expectations of others until the notion of carrying the burden becomes unsustainable – “You’re sick of always hearing/How you’re brave for persevering/You’d rather just be done.” Even with that, though, Sodomsky finds a spirit – a “glow” – in each individual. The years may try to beat it out of you, but it’s still there. Nearly buried sometimes, but there.
Song I Can’t Wait to Hear Live: “Learning to Sing” – Sodomsky’s electric guitar carries a whiff of pedal steel as he brings the myths of music-making crashing down, but with a wisp of hope to cling to – “Learn to live with what you’ve got/Someday we may come back again.”
Take Leave was produced, mixed and mastered by Ryan Weiner. Songs written by Sam Sodomsky. Musicians on the album include Sam Sodomsky (vocals, nylon string guitar, electric guitar, keys, synth bass), Ryan Weiner (shaker, slide guitar, drums, percussion, bass, EBow, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keys, organ), Sofia Wolfson (vocals) and Audrey Keelin (vocals).
Go here to order Take Leave (out August 28): https://thebirdcalls.bandcamp.com/album/take-leave
Check out tour dates here: https://thebirdcalls.bandcamp.com/album/take-leave