Ryan Adams and the Cardinals: Cardinology

The Cardinals have really grown together. As a fan that has seen Ryan Adams go through many different bands, there is no question that what the Cardinals have is special. The way Ryan and Neal Casal's voices blend is so pure you would figure they were brothers. The guitar playing is top notch and tasteful, and then you throw in the Slyder (Jon Graboff) and it is simply beautiful. The rhythm section keeps the groove founded with the work of Chris Feinstein (Bass) and the always fantastic Brad Pemberton on the drums. The bond that has grown can best be exemplified by the group's newest album (one in which Adams tried his darndest to actually have his name removed and simply be "The Cardinals") Cardinology, which just might be their finest work to date.

When the rumor mill started saying things like new album possibly this fall, the fervor reached Jonas Brothers proportions for all of us that are in on one of the best secrets around: Ryan Adams and the Cardinals are one of the best bands on the planet, and Ryan Adams is the best songwriter in the galaxy. Hyperbole aside, let's get to the review of the brand new album Cardinology.

1. Born Into A Light - Love the intro to the song and in turn the album. This song really hits its stride when the Casal harmony comes in. Typical retrospective Adams lyrics. A nice, subtle, sincere opener. Doesn't seem like it would be my first choice for an opening track but lets see where the boys are trying to take this.
2. Go Easy - That is what I am talking about, I am fine with the opener now. The desperation in Adams' voice has always been a signature to say the least. "If only to say this to you now" is a perfect example of this, and it sounds great as usual. "I will always love you, so go easy on yourself". I am officially in goosebumps happiness excitement mode.
3. Fix It - This is the first single from the album. I like the slotting after Go Easy, the song is a great song. "I know its not a game, but it feels like losing when someone you love throws you away". There is no need to fix this song (thank you bad word jokes that aren't really puns but feel like them anyway).
4. Magick - Straight no frills rock except for the amazing Casal Adams dynamic that is usually missing it straight no frills rock. One other thing I appreciate, the misspelling of Magick. As if there aren't enough songs called Magic, this way no one will ever be confused when they say what song is that and you answer "Magick".
5. Cobwebs - I've listened to this new song live like thirty times so I am a little bias, but I dare you to find one thing wrong with this song. The album version has reaffirmed that position. Please, let me know. I will send you a cheese wheel if you can think of something. I am also sure "Confuse my love for the cobwebs" could be inferred in like 12,308 ways. God I love this band.
6. Let Us Down Easy - You would never guess it but this song is totally awesome. Weird that these guys just come up with great stuff all the time, they must have a good songwriter. "Let us down if you must, but let us down easy". The happy singalong at the end of "Let us down, let us down, let us down" is so perfectly Ryan Adams. Fun joyous celebration of being let down.

If this is your first experience with the Cards you might just be realizing that this is not a very normal album. So far you are on song 6 with three genres covered (extermely well), and the quality of each song is very high. This is not a Brett Ratner album.

7. Crossed Out Name - This song is a time machine, almost like reaching into the old bag of tricks. Definitely could fit nicely on The Suicide Handbook or Heartbreaker, but I love that it is on Cardinology instead. "I kiss her mouth and I know, for everything there is a word, for everything but this". This song is a rumination of the hauntingly sad beauty that Adams is able to capture so often in his work, and that is a good thing.
8. Natural Ghost - Easing back in to the full band thing. Another good song, brooding. The idea is about someone making you feel invisible, and variations on that, presumably bad girlfriends or Politicians.
9. Sink Ships - It's been nice to have the Slyder back in action for the last two songs. It really adds a great element to the music. This song feels like one of those that you can casually dismiss as only good upon your first listen, and then it starts to grow on you until all of the sudden you realize it is your favorite on the album. This is sometimes called "The Sun Also Sets" phenomenon.
10. Evergreen - For some reason I instantly felt like I was driving in a light rain through an area that is lined by trees everywhere. I could now very well be sitting by a fire inside a cabin in the woods. At the end I am pretty sure I am slow dancing around the cabin. At the end I am pretty sure I am slowly dancing around the cabin. Throughout the song I am feeling good.
11. Like Yesterday - Another beautiful song, I am guessing it was written around the time of Fix It as I am pretty sure there are parts that could be interchanged. Again, this is a good thing. A really good thing.
12. Stop - I hate goodbyes. But this one is great. Apparently they put the desperation vocal effect on 2000 and then set the fragile soul setting to overdrive. While this doesn't make me smile, it makes me care. If you are not hanging on to every word that is coming out during this song you are not listening right. A perfect closing to a near perfect album.

"For a balance to be made every night, a weakness must be found.......... If you want it to stop" is how the album ends, granted with a couple repeats of stop at the end. As most people will jump to point out, Adams said weakness could be his past affinity for speedballs and whatever else can kill you, but I think that is lazy. Part of growing up, and bettering yourself as a person, is learning from your mistakes, and more importantly adjusting. And you can certainly make the case that part of growing up for some might be losing the need to get shitfaced every second of every day.

In years past I have read many critics blame Adams for being too prolific, and I always thought this was insane, but now more than ever I am at least starting to see where they are coming from. Without question he has always been able to write great songs, which makes the prolific complaint seem crazy, but it now appears he has learned to harness the insane creativity. Don't believe me? Check out his new personal site www.davidryanadams.com where you can learn about his books, read his poems, or check out any of his numerous side projects/videos. So instead of the days of 3 albums in a year, or the numerous bootleg sessions that have become legendary "albums" in their own right ( Suicide Handbook), we now have a world where you can get an update from Ryan up to 20 times a day, at least according to my Inbox. Did I mention how much I love technology?

Now I am not sure what weakness, if any, was found, because I love pretty much everything he has ever written. But if these last two albums, and the recent shows I have seen of the Cards, are a result of said hypothetical weakness detection, god bless it. Because this album is fantastic.

Amazon Item: 

Cardinology