Reviewed by Mike Z.
Let me get this out of the way right now: This is a Ryan Adams album and the Cardinals are studio musicians with instructions to stay nondescript.
Ryan Adams demonstrates the requisite confidence of a lead man in “Take It Easy”, as he sings with a coolness all artists aspire to and few realize. The coda borders on the anthemic, but one of Adams’ talents is that he has the utmost taste in knowing when a song is over and not fishing it dry. Lyrically this faith in what he sings is underscored by a cursory review of his lyrics. He doesn’t ask many questions, he makes declarations almost exclusively. Some border on the heavy handed, but the sparseness of the music lets you know that this is heartfelt and not preachy. I wish I could say otherwise, but “Magick” starts off with a Bryan Adams riff, and the song remains about on par with anything Bryan did. That is, it doesn’t demand too much attention, but it moves just enough to earn respect as a decent power pop song. “Cobwebs” is almost a love letter to U2. The familiar tom tom rhythm and new wave chords work in concert complete with faux grandiloquent vocals, and the next track (“Let Us Down Easy”) bolsters this assertion, sounding like a lost track from All That You Can’t Leave Behind.
Add half a point to this disc if you are impressed (as is this reviewer) with artists of the singer/songwriter ilk who do not indulge in egregiously long songs and three and four syllable lyrics that ruin any sense of directness or the effect of getting lost in the sentiment of the song. The simplicity of the arrangements gives this effort back much of its credibility. “Stop” is also guilty of not being the first song of its kind, but it definitely reaches through to another degree of emotion and immediacy. This is a lilting, melancholy song, yet it is the one you should seek out. It underscores Adams’ particular talent of letting the spaces between the notes and words do some of the most resounding work. I could see leaving this in my MP3 player and saving it for a night of friends, wine and cheese, background music, and the obligatory Dockers commercial (“What the hell happened to us?”) reference. Cardinology is good enough, however, that I could also envision some furtively asking who is the artist playing.
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