No Such Place
(Luaka Bop)
'About an hour before sunrise she drags his body down to the edge of the swollen river in a red velvet curtain stolen from the movie theatre where she works.' Welcome to the weird, wonderful world of Jim White, where Quentin Tarantino meets Johnny Cash down at some Southern crossroads where any wrong turn means a quick descent into hell. The song, The Wound That Never Heals, deals with an abused girl who grows into a man-baiting serial killer, who wants to 'kill 'em all and kill 'em all again'. There are no simple boy-meets-girl tales here - just life's screw-ups battling for some small salvation. This is blackest comedy, country noir from a man who grew up on years of bad drugs and confused Christian fervour only to find true redemption in superb songwriting.
Country-based it may be, but any artist on David Byrne's Luaka Bop label is sure to have diverse influences. Japan's Sochichiro Suzuki (Yellow Magic Orchestra) adds surreal spookiness to two of the most fragile tunes, Corvair and Christmas Day, while the mighty Morcheeba give trip-hop radio savvy to The Wound, Ten Miles To Go On A Nine Mile Road and Handcuffed To A Fence In Mississippi (the songs are as entertaining as their titles).
On his own, White becomes more pastoral but never simple. Ghost-town Of My Brain is all sneaking, creeping banjos, God Was Drunk When He Made Me adds a dry comedic touch, while the cheesy country classic King Of The Road becomes a pill-poppin' truck driver's delusionary nightmare.