Dave Matthews Band - Come Tomorrow
For some reason, I wanted to give the new Dave Matthews album a listen this weekend, despite the fact that I have not listened to much of his other music and really do not like him very much. I have only heard Under the Table and Dreaming (1994) and Crash (1996) and frankly, they are both overrated. Granted, that was a long time ago, and I might need a revisit. Come Tomorrow, even out of context, is actually very enjoyable but entirely different than what I know of as the DMB "sound." Though there are still a lot of funky, jazzy grooves throughout the album, but all-in-all it seems toned down, some might even say wearied. Without knowing the full story here, I would say that an older Dave Matthews has found a matured balance with his music and ambitions, and settled into a moodier atmosphere to fit his different perspectives on life. This change suits him well, and the unexpected differences made the album much more fun for repeated listens.
The one-two punch of the meditative "Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin)" and drum-and-riff-heavy funk groove of "Can't Stop" highlight the two aspects of Matthews that Come Tomorrow tries to delineate. He transitions from reflective musings to simple sentiments lyrically while stripping down his sonic personality in order to best convey these topics. The following three tracks ("Here on Out", "That Girl is You", "She") display this as well, essentially expressing the same "about a girl" feeling with contrasting styles, drawing from genres of acoustic alt-folk, mid-tempo groove, and distorted funk-rock. The following track, "Idea of You," strikes me as the most classic sounding on the album so far, but the leaner sound of the sextet group continues to give the songs a unique sound to this album. Plus, they included a loveable gimmick at the start of the song: the sound of a crowd cheering, giving it a live feel that I have heard is essential to enjoying Dave's band. With that in mind, the song now has a clever meta quality, since "Idea of You" as well as "Can't Stop" have been played live by the group for over ten years.
The second half follows similarly to the first, with the exception of "Virginia in the Rain," the only over 5-minute song that still sort of retains the low-key Grateful Dead feel of their other jam songs. Highlights of the rest are "Black and Blue Bird," the upbeat country-folk counterpart to "Here on Out," and the eponymous track, a cryptic but uplifting song about "letting the children lead the way" that becomes more clearly about his middle age with the closing two minutes entitled "When I'm Weary." The songs balance numerous styles throughout, but unlike the old records, the songs seem organic, not just inclusive for the sake of inclusivity. That's one of the great charms of the album - the songs sound grown instead of constructed, most developing over many years until finally reaching the studio. Luckily, Dave Matthews used this fact to strip away the fleeting joy of excess, and the listeners are left with the core emotional experience of the album as a whole.
Interestingly, I have no desire to listen to other DMB music even after enjoying the Come Tomorrow experience. I think it's a tactic of most older artists nowadays to harken back to the music of their past: they give their listeners just enough of an effort to draw your attention back to that one or two albums that made them the success that they are today. Thankfully, the best only desire to make music from the heart and soul, which is admirably what makes Come Tomorrow a success. Though for the record, Dave is not the best. I am just glad that he is willing to connect with his audience from his words and music, and not through his wallet.
The one-two punch of the meditative "Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin)" and drum-and-riff-heavy funk groove of "Can't Stop" highlight the two aspects of Matthews that Come Tomorrow tries to delineate. He transitions from reflective musings to simple sentiments lyrically while stripping down his sonic personality in order to best convey these topics. The following three tracks ("Here on Out", "That Girl is You", "She") display this as well, essentially expressing the same "about a girl" feeling with contrasting styles, drawing from genres of acoustic alt-folk, mid-tempo groove, and distorted funk-rock. The following track, "Idea of You," strikes me as the most classic sounding on the album so far, but the leaner sound of the sextet group continues to give the songs a unique sound to this album. Plus, they included a loveable gimmick at the start of the song: the sound of a crowd cheering, giving it a live feel that I have heard is essential to enjoying Dave's band. With that in mind, the song now has a clever meta quality, since "Idea of You" as well as "Can't Stop" have been played live by the group for over ten years.
The second half follows similarly to the first, with the exception of "Virginia in the Rain," the only over 5-minute song that still sort of retains the low-key Grateful Dead feel of their other jam songs. Highlights of the rest are "Black and Blue Bird," the upbeat country-folk counterpart to "Here on Out," and the eponymous track, a cryptic but uplifting song about "letting the children lead the way" that becomes more clearly about his middle age with the closing two minutes entitled "When I'm Weary." The songs balance numerous styles throughout, but unlike the old records, the songs seem organic, not just inclusive for the sake of inclusivity. That's one of the great charms of the album - the songs sound grown instead of constructed, most developing over many years until finally reaching the studio. Luckily, Dave Matthews used this fact to strip away the fleeting joy of excess, and the listeners are left with the core emotional experience of the album as a whole.
Interestingly, I have no desire to listen to other DMB music even after enjoying the Come Tomorrow experience. I think it's a tactic of most older artists nowadays to harken back to the music of their past: they give their listeners just enough of an effort to draw your attention back to that one or two albums that made them the success that they are today. Thankfully, the best only desire to make music from the heart and soul, which is admirably what makes Come Tomorrow a success. Though for the record, Dave is not the best. I am just glad that he is willing to connect with his audience from his words and music, and not through his wallet.
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