W.W. Lowman - "Plain Songs"

W.W. Lowman - Goodbye Greg (Arbouse 2007)

W.W. Lowman – Plain Songs / Arbouse

Goddamn am I glad I decided to move to Chicago. Looking to escape the sweltering boondocks of South Carolina, my final two choices came down to New York or Chicago. Thankfully, the right set of events took place that I landed in the latter, because I seriously doubt that I would have fit in amongst the neon cacophony of the Big Apple. The bottom line is I am a mellow guy, and Chicago, more than any place I have experienced to this date, seems to near flawlessly marry the city life with a laid-back, pleasant spirit. It is not a lazy or simple aesthetic by any means though, quite the contrary actually. The city is paved with experimental complexities especially within the arts and architecture, but they are achieved and presented in an unpretentious, warm manner. And most importantly, the Chicago mindset is not to continually attempt to out-do the other guy, but to instead collaborate and share talents for the greater good. All the proof you need is in the city’s post-rock and jazz scenes; both are as vibrant and forward-pushing as ever. And when those two similar-minded collectives intertwine, the results are nearly always stunning. Continuing with this tradition, W.W. Lowman, a supporting member of the region for nearly a decade now, finally gets his chance to take center stage with his solo debut, and you better believe his musically inclined friends are here to support him.

Lowman joined the Chicago team in 1998. Catching the ear of then-Chicagoan Jim O’Rourke while interning at ACME studios with his idiosyncratic style of guitar playing, he quickly networked through the city’s dense musical veins. As the years passed, his talents as a versatile session player were utilized in increasing doses, and he now sports a résumé that lists L’Altra, Smog, the Aluminum Group, Alasdair Roberts, Edith Frost, Bobby Conn, Lindsay Anderson, Rob Mazurek, Fred Lonberg-Holm and Will Oldham as collaborators. Lowman’s only venture as a songwriter though (until now), is as half of the intricate Fahey-inspired acoustic guitar duo Bosco & Jorge with Brad Gallagher. With now ten years of networking and musicianship developing chalked up, it is time to cash in on the experiences, and Plain Songs is very much the work of a matured, Chicago-inspired musician.

With the help of the Aluminum Group’s Frank Navin, Lowman has crafted a highly melodic, lushly meandering post-rock affair in Plain Songs. Though he may be known mostly as a guitarist, this sounds much more like the work of a composer. In fact, his guitar for the most part weaves subtly around the instrumentation rather than completely hogging the spotlight (the latter half of “Please Don’t Think Its Funny” is a great example of this), and I would venture to say without the prior knowledge of his instrument of choice, you would be hard pressed to decipher exactly where his specialty actually lies. Seeing as his inspirations for the album were pop and soundtrack composers Burt Bacharach and Ennio Morricone, this makes even more sense. Lowman apparently placed his ambitions above the sound of one particular instrument and set out to balance the complex formalities of finely arranged mood music with the accessibility and light-spiritedness of a pop song. He excels in this with Plain Songs providing music that is contemplative, accessible and occasionally moving.

Lowman enlists a number of fellow Chicago musicians to help flesh out his ideas. The complementary tones of Fred Lonberg-Holm (Terminal 4, Lightbox Orchestra), Max Crawford (Poi Dog Pondering), Lindsay Anderson (L’Altra), Mark Greenberg (Coctails, Archer Prewitt), Darren Garvey (Andreas Kapsalis Trio), Navin and a few others all coalesce gracefully in a manner that draws as much inspiration from Tortoise as it does Morricone. The music swells and grooves and saunters with arrangements that don’t ever feel overly complex, but are certainly the work of a skilled musician. And best of all, each of the patiently developing songs (only one clocks under the five minute mark) rarely retreads territory. “Tea Til Ten” lightly sways with multi-tracked, wordless vocals, “Batie” simmers with shuffling drums and Michio Kurihara-like electric guitar explorations, “Lee & Me” adds banjo into the mix for ten minutes of bluegrass-inspired post-rock, and “Tennis Socks” experiments with strings, vibes, accordion and guitar interaction.

Plain Songs is a very Chicago album outside of the obvious post-rock references. Lowman is not afraid to experiment with a myriad of instrumentation, tone and genres, but keeps it all encompassed in a down-to-Earth, easily accessible aura, though sometimes to a frustrating degree. It’s melodious and skillfully arranged where the whole is more important than any of the individual musicians, including Lowman himself. There is certainly still room for improvement, but as far as an introduction to arranging, Lowman is well on his way. Hopefully, and most likely with the city’s progressive spirit, he will continue to develop and reward us with a truly spectacular album.