When I first get an album, like anyone, I don’t know what to expect. This is especially true when dealing with an artist – like Craig Bancoff – who hasn’t yet made it to the top of the music hierarchy. However, having listened to his newest release Eden many times, I could have gotten a pretty good idea of what I was in for just from the album cover and the title. Both are indicative of the record’s overall atmosphere.
The album cover shows the silhouette of power lines lining the road Craig is guiding us down, as well as a bright blue sky and trees creating a valley that we must travel through. At the same time, these images are distorted. The colors are burnt and overexposed. In the top right corner, it simply says “Craig Bancoff – Eden” in faintly faded white. Eden is an album that has its roots in the sentiment of home but its sights on the all too often unclear world outside.
As a title, Eden accomplishes a similar effect. There is always a conflict between the environment that we inhabit and the dangers that creep in. The biblical tie is inescapable and, at the same time, poignant. Bancoff uses the Garden of Eden theme quite nicely throughout the record.
I was not surprised to see that Bancoff’s music is likened to Ryan Adams and The Jayhawks. As a fan of both Adams and The Jayhawks, I think it is a fair comparison. The instrumentation on Eden is done the way I like to hear on alt/country records. It is concise. The country basics are used, but they are used to good effect. No part is played that doesn’t need to be. The simple harmonies on “Crutch” are just right, the organ on “I Will Love You” gets the job done but doesn’t impose, and “Orchard Road,” steers clear of overpowering what has been played before it.
Many times, artists try and take alt/country to a place it doesn’t necessarily need to go (Ryan Adams’ song “Halloweenhead” is a perfect example, but that’s a different article.) When you’re a musician, it can be easy to forget to write a good song amidst the overwhelming amount of options that are available. Bancoff didn’t forget to just write good songs. In fact, it remains his main focus, and that is one of Eden’s triumphs.
By far, my favorite aspect of Eden is Bancoff’s lyrical subtlety. In the track “Eden,” he sings about the Garden of Eden, but more specifically, the snakes that he talks to. “Crutch” repeats “Everything’s a crutch/Yeah, I figured it out.” In the lyrics, there is a sense of good vs. bad and the idea that differentiating between the two is not always that easy. Though Bancoff sings of opposition in many ways, the idea is delivered in a beautifully melodic, understated way.
I’m very happy to have been given the chance to listen to Eden, and I look forward to future releases from Bancoff.
Craig Bancoff resources:
Monday, April 19th, 2010 in Music
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