W.C. Beck
A Mostly Quiet Life
Independent
W.C. Beck, indie-folk/Americana singer-songwriter, might be described as nomadic. Originally from Kansas, Beck has lived in Portland, Paris, and Brooklyn. His new album, A Mostly Quiet Life, harks back to Portland, where, on break from touring, Beck, along with Ryan Spellman, Jesse Bates, and Thor Jensen, laid down some demo tracks that were set aside.
Later, Beck dusted the tracks off, and over the course of a decade, shaped them into an album reflecting his evolution: national and international tours, contributions to more than 50 albums (including 10 of his own), and sharing the stage with The Decemberists, The Dandy Warhols, Familia Segundo, Michael Hurley, Blitzen Trapper, and The Moondoggies.
Of the eight tracks on the album, the best bits include “This Year,” a country-flavored tune vaguely reminiscent of Jackson Browne, with its feel-good flow and luscious melodic sway. Beck’s vocals, smooth and appealing, are backed by shiny harmonies.
Talking about “This Year,” Beck says, “This tune is a hopeful look at what’s to come, knowing that the only constant in life is change.”
A personal favorite, the lively country rocker “Girl on My Mind” smolders with yummy energy as Beck narrates his thoughts about an attractive girl. According to Beck, “It’s about a guy somewhere between reeling from heartbreak and loneliness and loving a girl that may not love him back, all the while observing how the world around him is changing and falling apart.”
There’s something about the mood of “Girl on My Mind” that leads listeners to conclude that, in the end, he wins the heart of the girl.
Beck’s cover of Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Every Drop of Water” immerses listeners in wistful surfaces of psychedelic folk textures, resulting in a song at once haunting and beautifully evocative.
“We waste the good times and the bad / But keep in mind that when you’re sad / Those tears of joy and sorrow lead you home / Every drop of water shapes the stone.”
Crying guitars, a low-slung braying organ, and hints of gospel-laced country, as well as Beck’s emotionally nuanced, drawling vocals, make “Prairie Town” oh-so compelling.
Beck closes the album with John Prine’s “Blue Umbrella,” a low, slowly sliding song dripping with heartache over lost love. The plaintive timbres of Beck’s voice reveal the depth of overwhelming loneliness.
A Mostly Quiet Life is a tasty reminder of W.C. Beck’s faculty for seductive melodies and expressing exactly what he means.
