"Roll The Bones X" by Shakey Graves
Indie-folk fans rejoice: the new Shakey Graves album is here. Unlike his more recent psychedelic rock releases, Roll the Bones X is a re-release of Alejandro Rose-Garcia's 2011 EP Roll the Bones with extra songs, demos, and commentaries about his songwriting process from that period. Complete with his signature guitar riffs and off-putting vocals, harmonies, and lyrics, Roll the Bones X is full of southern gothic-y, hippy-ish, Shakey Graves goodness.
As a fan, I was ecstatic to hear Rose-Garcia would be releasing Roll the Bones X on virtually every music platform. (Mostly, so I could blast “City in a Bottle” on full volume in my car without Youtube ads.) Crafted by Rose-Garcia alone, Roll the Bones X has always had a genuine and honest quality to it. Oftentimes his lyrics walk the line between nonsensical and profound, with catchy but simply constructed instrumentals. In familiar Shakey Graves fashion, the entire album is intertwined with strange audio clippings, which contribute to the record’s uniqueness. Even Rose-Garcia's spin on Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire” gives a new perspective on the tune, which sounds much more troubling than Springsteen’s version. Rose-Garcia's layered vocals throughout the song make his small, but haunting, lyrical change-- "only you can cool our desire"-- especially stand out.
While the first part of the album is the same Roll the Bones listeners could have purchased on Bandcamp for the past ten years, it is now accompanied by a new EP, dubbed Odds & Ends. Odds & Ends features songs that were written around the time of Roll the Bones that weren’t included on the original album, as well early versions and demos of some of his more popular tunes. Of these demos, I was personally drawn to “Late July.” The folk-murder ballad transforms with a rhythmic, upbeat melody into something that sounds almost like a campfire song opened by a barbershop quartet (I’m completely serious. Give it a listen.) Though Rose-Garcia is known for playing his songs differently each time, I'm sure these demos will surprise any frequent listener.
Roll the Bones X is a goldmine for any Shakey Graves fan, from the commentaries about Rose-Garcia's 'haunted guitar' to the previously unheard or unfamiliar tracks. Songs like “Proper Fence” and “Chinatown” are oddly nostalgic, drawing heavily on traditional folk influences but still have lyrical and melodic originality that render them timeless. Others, such as “Business Lunch” and “Oh the Reign,” are more cryptic, but still draw on the perspective of a wandering soul like many other tracks on the album. While Rose-Garcia has seemingly followed a more rock-based route with his recent releases, I'm glad he revisited his earlier work and made it more accessible. It not only proves that Rose-Garcia appreciates his fans, but still values his ‘older’ style of music and song craftsmanship.
No matter what genres Rose-Garcia draws his influence from, he remains a dynamic storyteller and songwriter, unlike any other I've yet to find. And now that the original versions of “Built to Roam” and “To Cure What Ails” are on Spotify, I'll excitedly await the new projects Rose-Garcia has planned for the future.
– Emma Abate