Kasey Anderson preview

Kasey Anderson
Wise Fools Pub, Chicago
Thursday, October 11, 2007

Without ever uttering the words “war,” “Iraq,” “president,” “Bush,” “Cheney,” “terrorism,” “Afghanistan,” “bomb,” or “impeach,” Kasey Anderson might have penned the most powerful anti-Dubya anthem yet in “The Reckoning.”

The title song from his most recent record, “The Reckoning” opens with a minimal drum beat and a few fuzzy, resonating power chords before Anderson’s crackled, weathered, despondent voice introduces the song’s main character: “A man rises in the morning and looks out on his kingdom/and he says ‘it’s good’/the walls are crumbled and the streets are flooded/everything’s right where he put it.” Later a delicately chilling piano hook kicks in as Anderson asks “Who will pay for all this?” before promising his adversary “You’re going to be judged someday.”

It’s a dusty, desolate, absolutely depressing song, much like the rest of The Reckoning. Death (“Red Shadows”), shitty luck (“Long Way Home”), and shitty jobs (“Last Thin Line”) rule this Washington-based musician’s mindframe, just like a certain other alt-country singer-songwriter Anderson usually gets compared to. That said, it isn’t surprising to learn both Anderson’s records were produced by Eric “Roscoe” Ambel, former lead guitarist in Steve Earle’s backing band, The Dukes.

– Trevor Fisher

Click here to download Kasey Anderson’s “Last Thin Line.”

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly