Where The Spirit Rests. Chris Eckman

Chris Eckman for me will always be associated with The Walkabouts, the band he co-led once upon a time. The band, well one of the, that sparked my third wave of new bands, that hasn't stopped until today. The shocking element is that it is nearly 30 years ago that I discovered that great album, 'New West Motel'. After 2000 my interest slowly faded for other new bands and I have missed several (collaboration) albums by Chris Eckman. Not so today. With the release of Where The Spirit Rests my attention is fully back in the place it should be.

From the very first note my attention is grabbed. Soft guitar playing opens Where The Spirit Rests, in what undoubtedly are three "banal" chords. Chords that everyone can learn to play. Hearing the melody Eckman conjures up from these chords is enough to enrapture me, fully. The stark difference between the guitar player and the musician/songsmith underscored in a few seconds. His dark voice almost whisper sings over the music. Of course the lyrics deal with some local encounter, small on the grand scale of things, a huge impact on the individual, "somewhere deep and dark", as he sings.

Living in the Slovenian capitol Ljubljana for years now, he plays on the album with local musicians who accompany him on bass and drums. All played in a low key. Where The Spirit Rests is an album that goes for the heart and mind, not for the dancing shoes. The electric guitar he also excels in, in a Neil Young soloing style, is left in its case. There's no need for it on this album. Together with producer Alistair McNeill, who moved to Ljubljana, he started the recording process in McNeill's new studio.

After a short time of reflection on the new songs, Eckman decided they needed more and these became the sounds that make this album more than just any other singer-songwriter album. He released his inner controlfreak and asked befriended musicians "to just play to what they heard". So they did and Eckman allegedly did not change a single note. The result are beautiful and delicate contributions on the pedal steel guitar (Chuck Johnson and Jon Hyde), Wurlitzer piano (Chris Cacavas) or violin (Catherine Graindorge).

It all results in an incredibly warm album. Even warmer than it must have been at the outset. The effect it has on me, is that I want to play it ever louder, as if I want to hear the instruments hidden behind the instruments I can hear. Truly as if there's more than Eckman is willing to let us hear. Partly this feeling comes from the mix of mystery and warmth that comes from the eerie sound of the pedal steel in 'Drinking In America'. The mystery repeat vocals I can hear in this song do suggest an almost parallel recording universe.

I have only one complaint. Where The Spirit Rests lasts only for seven songs before it is over. The songs are all fairly long, so that compensates a little and to have seven Chris Eckman songs this good is by far better than having none. His new album is beautiful and incredibly good. it competes directly with his best work in that band I started this review with. He left it behind for real it seems.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Where The Spirit Rests here:

https://chriseckman.bandcamp.com/album/where-the-spirit-rests-2

or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g