Hermitage. Ron Sexsmith

The sweetest of songwriters returns with a new album and it is welcome. Ron Sexsmith has an extended oeuvre, for me it is the third album, with 'Carousel One' being my introduction in 2015.

Of course Mr. Sexsmith was born under the wrong name. It should have been Songsmith, because if anything defines him to his listeners, it is his ability to write perfect pop songs that simply please the ear. Don't get me wrong. They are not to be mistaken for simple songs that enter the ear and ought to be forgotten immediately but hardly ever are. No, the songs on Hermitage are well crafted songs, like Ray Davies has been writing since the mid 60s, from right after he left his pre-punk garage rock side aside. The name of the ex-Kink is unavoidable when writing about Ron Sexsmith I notice. The similarities in the way of singing and tone of voice are too obvious to ignore. For me that's a pre as I am a lifelong fan of The Kinks and Davies' solo work, as shown on this blog by my recent reviews on the 'Americana' albums.

It also means that the large audiences pass Ron Sexsmith by like they, at least in Europe since 1970, have passed The Kinks and Ray Davies by, excepting the live version of 'Lola'. Are the free-flowing pop songs both men write just too difficult for the members of the average member of the larger audience? I can't help but wonder why, as the songs are so extremely pleasant to listen to.

As a side step I wonder what a Hermitage is. The name of the famous museum in St. Petersburg of course. It holds the word hermit in it. So I looked it up. It is the home of a hermit, so something secluded from the rest of the world. It is hard to associate a hermit's home with the court of Russia's Catherine the Great, but perhaps all royals liked to play shepherdesses in Arcadia close to a hermitage. Who can tell?

Sexsmith does the garden in his hermitage, mowing the grass with a pink boa on. The weather obviously is nice. If anything the cover art underscores the mood of the album. It presents the music of a man who, at least in my ears, is totally at ease with himself, his world and his music. This comes with a downside. It makes me wonder whether there is a Ron Sexsmith saturation point for me. The songs are extremely pleasant but do miss any form of edge. An album does become better from variation and that is not abundantly present on Hermitage. For now it remains a question answered positively. Hermitage in general is simply too beautiful to ignore.

Wo.


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