海角大神

Inner dialogues: How songwriter Cass McCombs moves forward

When Cass McCombs finished recording his 10th album, he emerged with something different from what he鈥檇 originally intended. While living in Northern California, the songwriter had been inspired to write about the Old West. His previous album included a precursor, a tune titled 鈥淭he Great Pixley Train Robbery.鈥� But he found himself intuitively making instead an album titled 鈥淗eartmind鈥� (debuting Aug. 19) as a way to handle the loss of several friends.聽

鈥淢usic has a mind of its own,鈥� says Mr. McCombs, whose Americana style encompasses folk, jazz, country, and the improvisational jamming of psychedelic rock. 鈥淚t always does the opposite of what you want.鈥�

Mr. McCombs鈥� new album has, however, achieved something he strives for in his songwriting: growth. Since his 2003 debut, 鈥淎,鈥� he鈥檚 been keen to avoid repetition. Nineteen years on, and despite being hailed by The New York Times as 鈥渙ne of the great songwriters of his time,鈥� he still finds songwriting a mysterious process. There鈥檚 no predictable method. Developing one鈥檚 craft requires digging through layers of hard earth 鈥� 鈥渕ostly shale, and rock, and dirt,鈥� he says 鈥� in order to mine rich seams of inspiration. He describes songwriting as a devotional act.聽

鈥淚f you rest on your laurels or you trust in things that have worked in the past, then the recipe is just mediocrity,鈥� says Mr. McCombs, who is also a published poet. 鈥淭hen you鈥檙e not going to create anything new.鈥澛�

Eclectic stories

鈥淗eartmind鈥� spans eclectic subjects including the travels of a fictitious jazz-blues band, a discharged soldier wrestling with his conscience, and the birth of a new Earth in which 鈥渄inosaurs lumber down Market St.鈥� Mr. McCombs says his songs are like inner dialogues. He tries not to edit too much, capturing the way one鈥檚 thoughts can be profound one minute, contradictory the next. Humor figures prominently in his songs.

On the opening track, 鈥淢usic Is Blue,鈥� Mr. McCombs describes his relationship to the muse as a marriage with ups and downs. But the playful chorus concludes, 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 have any other way / I love her, she loves me.鈥澛�

鈥淐ass鈥� lyrics have always really stood out to me. They鈥檙e just such beautiful storytelling,鈥� says Nicole Schneit (aka Air Waves), whose imminent album 鈥淭he Dance鈥� features Mr. McCombs on a song called 鈥淎lien.鈥� 鈥淗e dives in a little deeper than other people. ... They can be really deep topics, but he鈥檒l make it kind of catchy.鈥澛�

鈥淗eartmind鈥� is dedicated to the memory of three fairly young musicians, and McCombs collaborators, who died in 2019 and 2020: Chet 鈥淛R鈥� White, Sam Jayne, and Neal Casal.聽

There鈥檚 one song on the album that addresses the loss of a musician friend. But it isn鈥檛 a morose eulogy. On the sprightly 鈥淏elong To Heaven,鈥� angelic female voices coo over a drum rhythm that snaps like a clapper board. Mr. McCombs鈥� warm guitar lines are a throwback to the soft rock of FM radio in the 1970s.聽

The rest of 鈥淗eartmind鈥� is infused with the spirit of Mr. McCombs鈥� former collaborators. As he put it in a press release, 鈥淭heir memories guided me throughout and hopefully they live through the music.鈥� The result is the most energetic and musically upbeat album of his career.聽

鈥淪omething new鈥�

Making a breakthrough presents its own challenges because you鈥檙e upping the ante for the next time, he says.聽

鈥淎 lot of rock music [relies] on set rules and structural things that people have already established years and years ago,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 interested in working with people who want to throw that away and come up with something new.鈥�

When Mr. McCombs enters a recording studio, he comes prepared with songs built on strong foundations. If they鈥檙e sturdy, they can support the experimental ideas of producers, engineers, and guest musicians such as Wynonna Judd, multi-instrumentalist
Shahzad Ismaily, and drummer Danielle Haim from the sister trio Haim.聽

For instance, the 鈥淗eartmind鈥� title track features an instrumental coda in which the prevailing winds of a saxophone and Irish uilleann pipes converge. That鈥檚 not a combination you hear every day.

鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 a lot of conversation or deliberations about the arrangements,鈥� says Mr. McCombs. There was, however, plenty of talk about striving for musical progression.聽

鈥淭he idea was to make something that sounded like something we鈥檇 never heard before,鈥� he explains. 鈥淟ike a new territory. Some undiscovered country. Futuristic in a way.鈥澛�