But the songs overall are stronger on VA, feeling more like a genuine slice of their backwoods Virginia lives than merely a collection of sermon notes disguised as stories. Don’t take that the wrong way – I’ll always love quirky tracks like “Switzerland” and “Quill”, and how they change up their mood and rhythm seemingly one a dime only to come back around after a bit of exploratory instrumental goodness.
It’s interesting that Inheritance was their lone major-label outing and now they’re back to being independent, because considering how much control Hardesty seems to have gained over his harsher vocal instincts here, and how the band has learned to not rely so heavily on meandering song structures, VA feels more like the record that was meant to present them to a wider audience. My weird issues with imagination aside, VA is a lovely record that consolidates a lot of The Last Bison’s strengths as a band – Ben Hardesty‘s rough but confident lead vocals, the sibling harmonies that back him up, the folksy instrumentation (often veering into neo-classical territory) that backs them up, and the spirited, almost tribal-sounding percussion that perks up so many of their songs. On the very first day of November, when we finally got our first significant rain of the season and the temperature actually dared to drop below 60 during the daytime, I just had to whip this one out and celebrate that long-awaited arrival. I just see a lot more reds and oranges and golden browns in my mind’s eye as I play through this one. It’s very much a “fall record” in my mind, which doesn’t mean it’s not as lively or optimistic as a “summer record”. I first heard it when the dead heat of summer here in Southern California just wouldn’t seem to die already, but it made me long for the cooler weather and occasional rains of what we call autumn here. I’ve got that totally flipped around in my head, since last year’s Inheritance (and the independent record Quill, from which most of its songs were reworked) were both very much “summer albums” in my mind, and now VA has come along, showing up on the very last day of September, when most folks in the rest of the country were probably already seeing fall colors. Certain records bring to mind the changing of seasons, often because they were released (or at least I first started listening to them) at a certain time of year. In the case of Virginia-based “chamber folk” outfit The Last Bison, this tendency of mine overrides their stated intent – to create a set of songs that reminded listeners of the spring and summer, unlike the more autumnal feel of their past work. I’ll imagine colors that I think are associated with the mood of the album (perhaps aided by the cover artwork), and I’ll picture places where I have listened to that music, or would like to. I’ve mentioned a few times that I experience mild synesthesia when I listen to music. In Brief: The Last Bison stick to their strengths on their second full-length, reining in a few of the tendencies that may have made Inheritance an acquired taste, but still churning out beautifully orchestrated and energetic “chamber folk” music with thoughtful lyrics and just enough of a rough edge to remind you that it was recorded in a cabin in the marshlands of Virginia.
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