THE Cardinals is a rock band fronted by David Ryan Adams, the American alternative country-rock singer-songwriter from Jacksonville, North Carolina.
But Adams recently announced that he would leave The Cardinals to step back from making music, citing hearing loss due to Meniere’s disease as part of the reason for his decision.
Before he left, Adams, along with Neal Casal (guitar, piano and vocals), Chris Feinstein (bass), Jon Graboff (pedal steel, guitar and vocals) and Brad Pemberton (drums and percussion) recorded one last album, Cardinology.
Adams’ drug problems and public tantrums have often overshadowed his music. But not in Cardinology.
Drunk on melody, high on musical history, the record throbs with great playing and singing, and thrums with hope without pimping easy platitudes. Replete with unforgettable hooks and poetic details, it’s one of the best work Adams’ has ever done.
Cardinology begins with four killers in a row. Born Into A Light prays for faith amid troubles over a Tex-Mex melody, weepy pedal steel and gospel-tinged vocals.
The fairly straightforward roots rocker Go Easy is a breathless love pledge with heartland-rock hooks. It starts off good, lyrically warm and features more piano than electric guitar.
But the repetitive chorus of “Go easy! Go easy! Go easy! Go easy! Go easy! Go easy! Go easy! Go easy!” gets tedious, to say the least.
The lead single, Fix It, is a plea for psychic repair and sees the band chart new waters with a slower 70s R&B rock groove with a soaring Bono-style chorus.
Meanwhile, Magick is pure mindless garage-rock pleasure. The guitars get louder and fuzzier, blasting out some power chord pop with a hint of lap steel in the bridge and outro to make it a legit Cardinals track.
The most interesting track on the album is Natural Ghost. It’s an eerie ballad supported by an ethereal echo guitar
Cardinology’s riveting finale and album-closing weeper is Stop, a fragile piano ballad sung in a shaky voice that slowly gains strength and takes flight about substance abuse and rehab.
While not every track on Cardinology is a winner, it is good to hear Adams let loose with possibly his most varied record to date.
A great collection for the fans. — NST
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