Fox and the Bird
Darkest Hours
Reviewed by: Melissa Komar
The forty-three minute and twenty-eight second collection of thirteen songs offers up an impressive, yet sometimes melancholy, look into the human condition backed by hopeful harmonies and toe-tapping instrumentation that spans banjos, bells, fiddles, mariachi players, and trumpets.
The album opens with a cappella harmonizing lamenting that, “my hope is dead, my dreams are in the ground.” Not exactly an uplifting introduction, but the lyrics go on to affirm that, “given the chance, I’d do it all again,” instantly creating a juxtaposition of despair and hope that will be expanded upon over the course of the album through the lyrics and the tempo and pitch of the music.
“Wreck of the Fallible”, the first full-length track and earlier previewed to the public, begs the question, “why have we been rejected by our own…was it wrong to expect in their darkest hours you were ever really there at all,” highlighting the album’s title. The emotion conveyed by the vocalists pulls you on to the shore where the “beggar, thief, and whore,” wait to be cast from society. The next track, “Saints”, provides reassurance to the lowly, with a female vocalist promising, “I won’t shut you out, I’ll be honest, I’ll be patient, you can count on me.”
“Habit” is possibly the darkest track on the album, examining the often less desirable characteristics of the human mind, including violence and abandonment. “Dallas” is a cover of the 1970s country-rock band, The Flatlanders, which is a refreshed ode to Fox and the Bird’s hometown. The song seems to signify a change in mood, with the remaining tracks not reaching the darkest depths of ‘”Habit”. “Heading East” follows, employing the use of a muted trumpet that creates a funky jazz melody to lighten the mood even more.
“Ashes” and “Rough Darlin’” tackle the topic of love and listeners can find themselves transported to memories of their own old flames, going along for the walk “beneath the pale moonlight” and feeling the classic shaking speech, dry throats, and weak knees of a love-struck couple.
The final two tracks, although different stylistically, leave listeners with a hopeful message of good things to come. “No Man’s Land” finds the vocalist wanting to return to the simple way of life when “Oklahoma sky was his roof” because “life can be hard, but hard can be good.” The mariachi guitar driven melody serves as an anthem to keep going. “Dreamers”, the concluding track of the album, opens with simple piano chords and a single vocalist reminding us, no matter what our calling in life is and despite obstacles, you’ll eventually find your place.
The album is a non-skip, one shot listen all the way through, earning a rating of Bad-Ass, falling short of Iconic because of its sometimes dismal lyrics, making it difficult to sing-along. Darkest Hours, does, however, leave listeners with a beautiful collection of melodies to hold onto in times of anguish and in hopes that happiness will come “real soon.”
Rating: Bad-Ass
