Counting Crows mytholigize their America in 'Somewhere Under Wonderland'
--By Tzarathustra--
Having listened to the new Counting Crows album several times today it seems that the band took my advice and made a whole album in the vein of the first half of their last LP Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings. This new album, Somewhere Under Wonderland, contains no real lowdown weepers like a Crows' album usually does, though even the most upbeat song by them will always have at least a tinge of melancholy.
Instead, this one finds the band keeping things moving at a healthy clip and Adam Duritz foregoing much discussion of whatever personal issues he may have and focusing more on describing the world around him. This means songs that weave narratives about the America that was (he mostly misses it) and the America that is (he's mostly frustrated by it). The songs form a travelogue of sorts, moving from the plains of Colorado to the parade grounds of New Orleans, from the airports of New York to the nighttime streets of their beloved Los Angeles.
They've always been fond of an off-kilter brand of Americana, but now the country itself has become the Counting Crows' muse, and it lends itself here to a spry, engaging set of songs. This band was one of the first that I acquired when I first really began to choose my own music way back in the early 90s, and it's good to see them still doing well. I think I've mentioned before around here that every new album of quality by the legends of my past feels like a personal victory over the forces of dullness and time, and this one is no exception.
