Artist: Byron Isaacs
Album: Disappearing Man
Label: Cosmic Trigger Records
Release Date: 6.12.18
Romantic obsession turns dark in the brooding “Losing You” and the troubling, yet seductive, “Crazy Love” from Byron Isaacs’ absorbing debut solo album Disappearing Man. Coming from a founding member of the eclectic folk band Ollabelle and one who also records and tours with The Lumineers, it would seem out of character for Isaacs to lurk around these inky atmospheres and entertain such poisonous thoughts. Maybe everybody had him all wrong. Maybe there’s something more sinister about Isaacs.
Difficult to pigeonhole, Disappearing Man is at once smoldering and noir-like, but also dizzyingly psychedelic on occasion – as with the title track, which could be interpreted as autobiographical – and prone to Crazy Horse-inspired outbursts of electric-guitar noise. Like some bastard child of the Paisley Underground sent off to live with a much nicer Americana-influenced family, Isaacs’ own sound appears to have discovered its real father is the Dream Syndicate.
As the edgy, swaggering garage-rock of “Daddy’s Farm” sneers and blusters, optimism blooms from the lush beauty of “Seeing is Believing,” where soft percussion and strummed acoustic guitar seem to be guided by the stars. More solid and muscular, “Man of the Times” is jangly rock with hooks that have a firm grip, while the hushed, dreamy waltz “Gypsy Wind” sweeps across the floor and takes a lazy, nighttime dip in eddying choruses that appear like hidden swimming holes. It’s a satisfying payoff for those who stay to the very end.
A Who’s Who of studio musicians that have played with musical icons (Boz Scaggs, Steve Earle, Roger Waters and Loretta Lynn, to name a few) assisted Isaacs in realizing his vision. Arranger John Lissauer worked with Leonard Cohen, which explains a lot. With such a diverse cast, it’s easy to see how Disappearing Man came to have such interesting variety and how it continuously rewards careful listening. Here’s hoping Isaacs, the solo artist, doesn’t vanish into thin air.
—Peter Lindblad
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