Categories : Music Reviews, Rock + Pop.
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Rating: 3 / 5 Reviewer: Nathan Atnikov |
For the first time in his career, it seems that the sheer volume of Ryan Adams’ output is starting to affect its quality. Cardinology in many ways is like a sister record to 2007’s Easy Tiger, if you consider the former to be the rock ‘n’ roll conclusion to the latter’s country beginnings. Cardinology houses heavier rock guitars and a little bit more of Adams’ fun-loving side, with the trade-off being more nonsensical lyrics and a less structured feeling to the songs.
‘Magick’ and ‘Cobwebs’ are both examples of Adams paying a bit less attention to the weight of his lyrics – think ‘Halloweenhead’ off of Easy Tiger for a comparison. There are times on Cardinology that Adams takes a swing at some weighty ideas, but some of the intended lyrical payoffs fall flat – “I feel like a page with a crossed out name,†for example.
Cardinology isn’t an out-and-out concept piece like 2003’s Rock N Roll, but in equal parts it lacks some of the heartfelt sincerity of his other releases, leaving it in a bit of an awkward middle ground. Adams has never been a predictable artist, but at the same time, it’s never been this hard to figure out what he’s trying to achieve with an album. But perhaps we’re making this more difficult than it has to be.
Taken as an independent collection of songs, Cardinology is merely average. There are plenty of good ideas (‘Cobwebs’; ‘Let Us Down Easy’; ‘Sink Ships’), but most of the ideas don’t feel fully realized. For that reason, this album will probably fade from memory fairly quickly, especially if he continues his album per year pace in 2009.
