ALBUM REVIEW: C.W. Franz – Solo Again

Previously on “Solo”: “On a surface level, it is admittedly a collection of mostly-incomplete song ideas that, most likely, were fleshed out into complete, released songs. But as a rare, emotional look into C.W.’s creative process, “Solo” delivers!”

That, of course, was the conclusion to my 2022 review of C.W. Franz’s record “Solo”, whose “one-man show” approach to its material was subsequently replicated on his 2023 albums “The Cubensis Session” and “A C.W. Franz Christmas”. This month in particular has been a rather busy and creative one for C.W., with the releases of three generative music projects – the latter being the carefully considered yet immediate “Four Generative Quarter Tone Pieces” – and his provocatively political album “American Republic in Crisis”. Now he caps off the first half of March with the surprise sequel to “Solo”, aptly titled “Solo Again”.

Unlike its predecessor, which was basically a collection of loose demos that may or may not become fully fleshed-out songs later on in C.W.’s discography (more on that later), “Solo Again” has a clear, specific throughline. And despite the stream-of-consciousness approach to the songwriting and spur-of-the-moment approach to the instrumentation, there is a genuinely strong theme holding this album’s five tracks together.

The theme in question is human connection, specifically the bond between family, friends and lovers. The throughline, however, is how C.W. deals with both sudden and eventual disconnections from previous romantic partners and, to a lesser extent, friends and family. Replacing his Texaco Oil Can-o-Caster from “Solo” with a custom acoustic cigar box tenor guitar, C.W. ruminates on the failed relationships that continue to fuel his music while constantly reminding himself that everything, good and bad, will inevitably conclude.

The opening track “Nothing’s Promised” brilliantly sets up the album’s appropriately somber tone. There’s a slight intensity to C.W.’s strumming during the song’s slow yet soothing build-up. Around the 3:10 mark, C.W. officially kicks off the song itself, delivering his vocals in the soft, hushed register he clearly favors when working on his string-based musical compositions. The album’s theme is set up through a few harsh truths C.W. drops on the fleeting nature of life (“Go in for a check-up, and you go under / Start your retirement, and your heart gave out”). After a roughly minute-long period of moderate strumming, C.W. sets up the album’s throughline with the disheartening and incredibly relatable final verse (“Lovecan fall by the wayside too / Even if you’re careful, that sad sack might be you / At some point”).

The following track “Northern California Blues” features the most self-aware lyrical moment on the record. Around the 2:10 mark when the song begins, C.W. opens it with what is clearly a reference to his existing discography (“I sung similar blues over the years / Well now I’m gonna sing ‘em again”). Additionally, this song features the second instance of California (“Images of the Northern California sun got me down”) as the first line of “Nothing’s Promised” also mentions the “California sun”.

Perhaps California is where this relationship ended, and though we aren’t given any information on what happened, we are given ideas on how C.W. approached that relationship and dealt with the outcome. He genuinely wanted to be there for this person and not solely base their partnership on his needs being met. Between two passages of turbulent strumming, we get the final verse which suggests that C.W’s dissatisfaction in the outcome of the relationship resulted in him turning his back on some of his loved ones who probably saw the end coming before he did.

The inevitability of the end is explored in the next track “The Oregon Trail” whose title isn’t in relation to the actual Oregon Trail but the VIDEO GAME of the same name! Leave it to C.W. to put me on to a game I didn’t even know existed! Anyway, there’s an odd, unexpected sense of humor to the song’s opening lines (“Played the Oregon Trail the other day / Still remember the Apple II in third grade”). But then as the song progresses, you realize that he’s using the game as a metaphorical setup to describe yet another failed relationship.

Incorporating the strategy-based gameplay of “The Oregon Trail”, C.W. establishes a farm, buys and hunts for food and keeps a party of settlers safe from danger. And in one couplet near the tail end of the second verse, he gives a brief description of how that ‘level’ played out (“Didn’t go so well / Everyone in the party died”). But it’s the last line that’s the most intriguing and ambiguous. C.W. sings “But you weren’t among the names”, suggesting that either his ex in this scenario had already left him or wasn’t there amongst the party of settlers in the first place. In other words, he played by the rules and still lost the game.

We then get the most revealing and emotionally moving track on the album: “Elliot”. Right out of the gate – lyrically, that is – we get this brief, unequivocally romantic introduction to this particular story (“We met, two strangers / Through the ether / Tryin’ to right our ships”). From here, C.W. describes the empathy his ex had towards his ailing father even though his parents mistreated him in the past. Also, the “small hints as to his misery” he gives his father alludes to the first verse of “Nothing’s Promised”.

On the second verse, he sings about how the judgment of his friends and family (perhaps the ones he turned his back on in “Northern California Blues”) towards C.W.’s former partner added to the strain their relationship was already undergoing. When the relationship itself comes to an end on the next verse, C.W. ponders whether he was the root cause of its failure or if his parents told him to end it. And yet on the final verse, he wishes him all the best and moves on. There’s a nice bit of alliteration in that verse when he sings “Deciphering signs for the silent”. Despite the downer of a conclusion this song contains, its final three bars are admittedly sweet, heartwarming and optimistic (“Fill up your cup / Show love / Let it worry about the rest”). As a whole, it’s a true album highlight and one that I imagine will leave some listeners teary-eyed.

And speaking of the “collection of loose demos that may or may not become fully fleshed-out songs” I mentioned earlier with my brief take on “Solo”, “Solo Again” concludes with a demo that BECAME a fully fleshed-out song! “Red Dress”, which kicked off the album centerpiece “Red Dress / Bad Bill of Goods / Better Than / Red Dress Revisited”, is now re-interpreted from what I STILL assume is a commentary on socio-economic change to a heartbreaking look at post-breakup regrets. The vocal melody and establishing verse are different from what we heard on “Solo”, and we’re treated to an actual storyline centered on the lead character with the titular ‘red dress’.

What holds this version back, however, is the noticeable flaw in its recording. If you’re familiar with C.W.’s home recordings, you’ll easily realize that he recorded this album at the “Orange Diamond Studios”. But there are a few moments in this track where you can hear indiscernible voices outside, most likely from a TV. I really wish C.W. re-recorded this track when the area was quieter but I guess, like the one-man show “Solo” was, he was creatively ‘in the moment’ at the time of this recording.

Anyhoo, on “Red Dress”, we get a sense of the painful heartache he’s enduring, sparked by the revelation that his ex left him for her old boyfriend. He desires some sort of reconciliation but doesn’t think it’s worth the risk, as he states at the end of the second verse (“Wish I could’ve made the five-hour drive, but that would’ve been too much”). Interestingly, C.W sings on the fourth verse about how his ex, at the time they were together, was reasonable towards his inner demons and flaws. 

Now I could be wrong, but I assume this is a reference to his “C.W. Franz VII” record which was centered on trying to move forward into a new relationship from a dark past. The line “on a place filled with charlatans and liars” may very well be the “Devil Town” C.W. sang about in the Daniel Johnston cover that opened the album. The final couplet of that verse finds him picking himself back up, wishing his ex all the best and moving forward yet again (“I still appreciate what you did / And I hope you think of me once in a while”). The cycle of loneliness starts all over, bringing a sad conclusion to the album.

Ultimately, “Solo Again” is an effectively poignant follow-up to its predecessor with heartfelt lyrics, stirring instrumentation and thematic resonance. Though it isn’t designed to answer its underlying existential questions regarding the transience of life and human connection, the message one should take from this record is how these unforeseen disconnections can shape us into becoming better people. But to get to those realizations, we need to be by ourselves and with ourselves. And in the case of this “Solo” duology of records, it doesn’t hurt to have a musical instrument nearby.

OVERALL RATING: 8 out of 10

Now available on Bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW: C.W. Franz – American Republic in Crisis

“Remember, remember, the 5^th of November”. It’s both funny and ironic that the first line of an old British folk verse about the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 – now etched into pop culture thanks to 2005’s “V for Vendetta”, one of the best dystopian films ever made – will now be associated with the 2024 United States presidential election. I will confess that, at the time I’m writing this review, I’m marginally aware of the developments in this upcoming election between current President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. The bits of information my brain receives are courtesy of CNN, which my news-loving father and older brother tune into on brief intervals. And I speak as a non-American when I say this: when this election takes place, the ENTIRE WORLD will take notice!

C.W. Franz, who’s tackled a wide variety of concepts in his music over the near four-year period I’ve covered his work – devotes the entirety of his latest album “American Republic in Crisis” to that election. Stylistically, it’s similar to 2023’s “Alpha and Omega: Beginning and Ending” where C.W., inspired by events that left him unsettled, delivered an apocalyptic folk album centered on death, its inevitability and the bravery – or lack thereof – of facing it. And in a way, you can picture this project as the third in a series of albums inspired by unsettling current events, the first being “American Darkness” which was released early last year. But what makes “American Republic in Crisis” the most ambitious – and dare I say, most provocative – of this unofficial series is the use of archival sound recordings of various American presidents.

And this leads to the “dire warning” – as advertised on the liner notes of its Bandcamp page – C.W. gives on this record. A physical war, not a digital one between keyboard warriors and quite possibly a CIVIL one (more on that later on), will inevitably arise following the outcome of this election. And drawing from America’s internal and external wartime history, C.W. believes that – to quote the age-old axiom – history will repeat itself.

Additionally, C.W. makes it clear in the liner notes that this album is “a difficult release, not for everyone, but every civically-minded American should hear it”. And yes, I can imagine a LOT of people dismissing the idea of a potential post-election war, whether they’re Democrat or Republican, peace-loving or confrontational, American or non-American. But I can also imagine a lot of Americans sensing that a fuse has already been lit and the powder keg associated with it is set to explode on the night of November 5^th. At this time, because I have to actually review this album, I will say this in terms of whether I believe a civil war is inevitable or not: the attack on the U.S. Capitol Building DID happen. January 6^th 2021, during Biden’s presidential transition, to be exact.

“American Republic in Crisis” kicks off with “The Gerontocracy”, the title of which is a vicious critique of the current ages of both Trump and Biden and how misguided their decisions are and will be in regards to governing the United States. After a quick vocal snippet (“Liberty Bell!”) followed by a field recording of a Liberty Bell replica being rung in Denver, C.W. sets the dark, apocalyptic tone of the record using his trusty custom soprano cigar box guitar. By the track’s 6 1/2 -minute standards, C.W.’s vocals take a pretty long while to appear, which they eventually do around the 3:40 mark. In the same hushed, half-sung, half-recited vocal delivery he exhibited on “Alpha and Omega: Beginning and Ending”, he rips apart any and every expectation that America will be “great again” after November 5^th with lyrics drenched in bitter criticism (“Gerontocracy is the only outcome / Demonic or well-meaning, both aged”, “Follow the scent of misleading snouts”).

The next track “If You Can Keep It” is the first on this record to incorporate an archival sound recording. In this case, it’s the “Progressive Covenant with the People” speech from Theodore Roosevelt. Unless you’re familiar with that speech, I highly recommend that you visit the Library of Congress’ website where that audio recording and its transcription are available. The clip used on this track ends with Theodore saying:

Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.

In the context of this song, it’s suggested that there is an invisible government who’s been pulling the strings for decades, deciding who becomes President and caring less about how voters feel about the outcome. C.W. opens the song with the line “Red Lion….look it up!”. And so said, so done, I looked it up!! According to Spiritualdesk.com (always remember to cite your sources of info, fellow writers), “red lions are associated with strength, power, and courage, as well as passions, desires, and motivation in reaching one’s dreams and goals”.

But the following line “There used to be equal time” suggests that the Red Lion of this song relates to a famous 1969 U.S. Supreme Court case – Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v FCC – where the FCC’s Fairness Doctrine (radio and TV broadcasters must present a balanced and fair discussion of public issues on the airwaves) was brought into question. After some creepy micro-tuning at the tail end of the second verse, C.W. requests that the “heirs of the Sons of Liberty” should be thrown “into the River Charles”. My interpretation of that line is that the legacy of the Sons of Liberty is long-forgotten at this point, and their heirs (whether by blood or belief) gave up in the fight for liberty. Through C.W.’s logic, nothing has been done to improve the lives of the modern American citizen.

Up next, we’re treated to the two-parter “Bellum Americanum”, Latin for…you guessed it…..”American War”. Part 1 opens with a clip of actor Fritz Klein playing the role of Abraham Lincoln and delivering the now-iconic Gettysburg address in its entirety. But it’s the final line of that address C.W. clearly wants us to hear and remember before he starts strumming his guitar:

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth

Lyrically, this is the album’s most dense and cryptic song, as C.W. examines the dog-eat-dog and dog-FEEDS-dog (The lines “The vertebrates become encephalopods” and “Sabertooths without fangs”, for example, are verbal jabs at most, if not all, Republicans) structure of American society. It also serves as a nightmarish setup of this “American War” (even the final moment of C.W.’s strumming sounds nightmarish), with Part 1 representing the fuse and Part 2, the powder keg.  

Speaking of Part 2, “Bellum Americanum II” opens with the actual recording of the famous Franklin D. Roosevelt speech “Four Freedoms”. Unlike the full speech used in Part 1, this recording stops at the third of the four fundamental freedoms listed by Roosevelt: the Freedom from Want (“economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants—everywhere in the world”). The last one, however, is Freedom from Fear (“a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor—anywhere in the world”). Was this purposefully left out of this track? More on that later on!

It’s remarkable how bleak C.W.’s string-based soundscapes get with every passing track and on “Bellum Americanum II”, it’s no different. Lyrically, he touches on the current American War of Democrats vs Republicans / Biden vs Trump and how, at this moment, media is the most effective weapon being used. In the second verse, he mentions the negative impression this battle has left on the social, racial and economic identity of the average American citizen. He closes the song with a lyrical middle finger – and some microtuning added for good measure – to the media and its ‘selective’ attitude towards serious matters concerning the election.  

At this point, the archival speeches used on this album were delivered during an American War and, in the case of Roosevelt, before a World War. On the penultimate track “Locke, Paine, and Rousseau Weep:  Hobbes Just Shakes His Head” – the title of which references French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, author of “The Social Contract”, English philosopher Thomas Hobbes, and English-born, American Founding Fathers Thomas Paine and John Locke – opens with the inaugural address from John F. Kennedy, delivered roughly two years before his assassination. The clip, which consists of the last section of that speech, ends with arguably its biggest takeaway: “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country”.

Compared to what we’ve heard before on the album, the strings on this track sounds significantly somber. And on the subject of “The Social Contract” (“only the general will of the people has the right to legislate, for only under the general will can the people be said to obey only themselves and hence be free”), he states on the first verse that if it fails, the “only option lies anarchy or suicide”.  And here is where the powder keg finally explodes and America is at war (“sister against brother”, “lover against lover”). During the song’s haunting final seconds, C.W. slows down his strumming, sings in an almost exasperated manner “Our history will be nothing!”, pauses for a bit and concludes with “Burning… it… down”.

Like “The Gerontocracy”, the album closer “Bloody Potomac Stomp” doesn’t start with a speech, but it does end with one. Before that speech, we’re treated to an instrumental – just as dark and bleak as the music which preceded it – that might as well be used as background music to a movie scene where this civil war (hence the title and C.W.’s “dire warning”) is seconds away from starting. The speech itself is the inaugural address from Dwight D. Eisenhower (the echo chamber effect of the recording makes this track sound even more ominous), and the excerpt used is the first part of this speech, where he delivers this prayer:

Almighty God, as we stand here at this moment my future associates in the executive branch of government join me in beseeching that Thou will make full and complete our dedication to the service of the people in this throng, and their fellow citizens everywhere.

Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right from wrong, and allow all our words and actions to be governed thereby, and by the laws of this land. Especially we pray that our concern shall be for all the people regardless of station, race, or calling. May cooperation be permitted and be the mutual aim of those who, under the concepts of our Constitution, hold to differing political faiths; so that all may work for the good of our beloved country and Thy glory. Amen.

Where this album truly shines is how it encapsulates the fear of the inevitable and logical outcome of the presidential election laid out by C.W., replacing its far-fetched first impression with concrete evidence based on American history. And as someone who wasn’t entirely invested in the Trump v Biden rematch, I now find myself genuinely concerned with its resolution and expected reverberations on the world itself (see Roosevelt’s “The Freedom of Fear”). From a thematic and tonal perspective, this record is indeed a “difficult” record to sit through, but given its subject material, that’s to be expected. And yet C.W. keeps things engaging with his lyrical and instrumental performances, and leaves the floor open to much-needed discussion thanks to his references to historical facts from the past and present. As his first true political album, “American Republic in Crisis” is a bold addition to his already-versatile discography. Will there be another? I guess we’ll see as the road to November 5^th winds down. And speaking of November 5^th, while the abovementioned Gunpowder Plot verse may pop up in the discourse surrounding the election, I do hope Eisenhower’s prayer is brought up as well.

OVERALL RATING: 8 out of 10

Now available on Bandcamp