John Vanderslice
With Bishop Allen. Wednesday, October 3, at the Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights.
By Lee ZimmermanGiven his knack for quirky discourse and obtuse imagery, the guy has never been the most accessible artist, but his lilting tunefulness and self-effacing charm have proved increasingly endearing over the course of half a dozen outings. Emerald City doesn't vary from that earlier template, but its shifting tales, told from troubled perspectives and with omnipresent paranoia, create a haunting residue.
Despite an occasional glimpse of optimism -- specifically, the sense of renewal that accompanies "The Parade" -- a darker demeanor prevails. Sometimes the tone is deliberate: the edgy, agitated "Numbered Lithograph" ("I've never been lonelier," he sings). But mostly it's diffused: the wistful lope of "The Minaret" ("I can see both sides, and it paralyzed me inside").
Ultimately, Vanderslice circles back to confront his calamitous situation head-on, fueling the dogged sway of the final entry, "Central Booking." "The whole mess could sink me again/Held up at Kennedy/Sent back to De Gaulle/Looks like September has won again," he moans, exiting the album as uncertainly as he started.
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