ALBUM REVIEW: C.W. Franz – C.W. Franz IX

Though I came in a year too late to the beginning of C.W. Franz’ self-titled album series (forgive me, my Fiverr gig didn’t exist back then), my official introduction to Franz’s music came in the form of 2020’s “C.W. Franz II”, an instrumental evocation of memories related to the American Midwest. From there, I’ve covered every “C.W. Franz” installment up to this point, experiencing and pretty much documenting the unique concepts, various emotions and degrees of musical experimentation along the way.

“C.W. Franz III” and “C.W. Franz VI” are currently my top two favorites, the former being an elegy for the traditional American restaurant whose release during the second year of the pandemic made the experience of listening to it all the more heartbreaking, and the latter being a bleak, epic, existential journey where time and space were ripped apart in an attempt to find meaning within the banality of modern-day life. Back when I reviewed “VI” and interviewed C.W. himself on my podcast, I assumed there was nowhere else for this series to go. And then “C.W. Franz VII” and “VIII: Adrift and Hoping” dropped, bringing things literally back down to Earth. Acting as two sides of the same coin – day and night, if you will, given their contrasting album covers – “VII” and “VIII” saw C.W. moving optimistically forward in his life through a new relationship, leaving behind a dark path of broken hearts and unforgivable mistakes.

Now we have “C.W. Franz IX”, the ninth chapter of this ongoing series, once again boasting an eclectic cast of guest performers and a striking album cover designed by KM Designs. And in order to describe the experience I had with this record prior to writing this review, I have to talk about that cover.

With the first few listens I gave the album, my mind kept zeroing in on two things: the production and that cover. Bear in mind that I was simply basking in the sound and tuning into the vibe of the record, without thinking too much about what was going on thematically and lyrically. But I felt there was something missing, or at least something that didn’t grab me during those first few listens. I went back to that cover and then I noticed something I didn’t before: two birds, each perched on a tree on opposite sides of the forest portrait serving as the album art. And THAT was when the album finally clicked for me!

Playing almost like a ‘threequel’ to “VII” and “VIII”, “C.W. Franz IX” is a breakup record, which is admittedly nothing new in C.W.’s expansive discography.  And yet with the more listens I gave it after that ‘mind-blowing’ reveal of the birds in the album art, I couldn’t help but see it as a turning point in C.W.’s musical career, where he takes all of the stylistic practices and thematic fascinations that he’d been honing and pondering on for the past five years and combining them into a stunningly cohesive whole!

It begins with the first of two two-parters (technically, there’s three – but more on that later) “Flying Over Home (Thinking of You) / Permanent Affection”. The first half opens with an archival recording of the “Steamboat Bill” refrain made famous through the iconic Disney cartoon “Steamboat Willie”. Not only does that sample reflect C.W.’s deep interest in American history and the reverberations of its past upon modern society (“C.W. Franz II”, “C.W. Franz V” and “American Republic in Crisis” come to mind), but it sets up the album’s main symbol: a bird. Now you’re probably asking yourself: “But isn’t it an animated mouse who does the whistling?” My response to that is: “Isn’t that cartoon now accessible through the public domain?” On a side note, it’s funny how this album takes us off the yacht from the album cover of “VIII” and onto a metaphorical steamboat in a matter of seconds.

Anyway, “Flying Over Home (Thinking of You)” kick-starts with some gentle strumming courtesy of C.W.’s beloved Texaco Oil Can-o-Caster, which evolves into a warm, pleasant duet with guest artist Michael Wookey on Marxophone. Going back to the album cover, this moment feels like the musical backdrop to a cinematic establishing shot involving the forest from the album art. Roughly around the 2:45 mark, C.W. starts singing, and as short of a verse he gives in this first half, it packs a lot of emotional punch. The album’s premise is laid out: three days have passed, and his romantic partner has left the “temporary nest” with no indication of returning. C.W. mentions “Steamboat Willie” in the third bar, which I interpreted as him expressing how he feels the complete opposite of how carefree Mickey Mouse was in that cartoon.

In the “Permanent Affection” half of the track, we get another fantastic duet between C.W. and Michael, with some Ebow use from the latter in the background. C.W. returns to the bird metaphors, singing about how the “audacious starling and chickadee flies over home to the nest where they feel they should be”. He ends the verse with a tear-inducing farewell of sorts to his former partner, effectively setting up the record’s poignant tone.

The following track “No Worries” opens with a soft duet between C.W. and classical guitarist Naythen Wilson. C.W.’s undulating pace creates this weird sense of dread as if he fears the reminiscence he’s about to embark on in this track will hurt him. And yet he receives some much-needed support from Naythen, alongside guest pianist Neemias Teixiera on the Yamaha P-95. All three instrumentals combine into a stirring soundscape which takes up the rest of the song. During that section, C.W. delivers a short and genuinely heartwarming recollection of specific memories, evoking the mental retreats into “happier times” prevalent on “C.W. Franz III” and 2023’s “American Byways” featuring The Big Bluestems. And in those happy, burden-free moments of “No Worries”, C.W. had “nowhere somewhere else to be” (God, I LOVE that line) and “didn’t worry enough then” of his own limitations, imperfections and, in an emotionally captivating moment, his “own self”.

Up next is the second two-part track “Got Troubles/ Got Mine”, whose first part begins with what sounds like a bluegrass-like melody made up of C.W.’s vibrant strumming and The Big Bluestems’ own Rodnell Matos’ playful plucking of the mandolin, with some six-string fretless electric bass support from guest bassist Hexifice. Another memory, just as vague as the ones on “No Worries”, is brought up in song, but it’s clear that C.W.’s singing about his ex. Here, he recalls a moment where he was deathly afraid of something and she was there at that time to support him.

Afterwards, C.W’s Can-o-Caster playing slows down to a crawl, then picks back up to signify the start of the track’s second half (“Got Mine”). The bluegrass-like melody restarts, this time in a slightly different pitch, then slows down after a while for C.W. to finish his story. A callback to one of the main themes of “C.W. Franz VII”, C.W. reminds himself of how he emotionally mistreated his former partner. Perhaps out of fear of his own future, he proceeded to shut her out of his life, ultimately resulting in their separation. And in the track’s final moments, he summarizes that outcome in both a regretful and indifferent manner by saying “some things don’t last”.

Similar to the sonic experimentation on “C.W. Franz II” and “C.W. Franz V”, C.W. incorporates some non-American instruments into “IX” via the following track “Shaker Symmetry”. Thanks to Maryan Banan on oud and longtime collaborator Reinaldo Ocando on darbuka, finger cymbals and vibraslap, percussion is FINALLY added to the album’s instrumental palette. Throughout this track, we’re treated to this exotic and slightly sensual mix of Can-o-Caster, darbuka, finger cymbals, vibraslap, oud and Hexifice’s electric bass guitar. Seemingly intoxicated by the vibe of the production, C.W. starts praising his former partner’s external and internal beauty. I especially LOVE how the oud makes its introduction in the final line of the first verse between “addressing” and “unjust policy”. In the second verse, he confesses that he still finds her perfect in his eyes, “encircled and flanked by other perfect ones”. The following lines add some depth to his perspective on their past relationship: “I give so much to you / That I don’t think enough for myself”. And similar to the opening lines of the track “Northern California Blues” off his recently-released “Solo Again” record, C.W. closes this song with this self-aware couplet (“It’s all the same tune, in a similar mode / It’s been that way as long as I can remember”).

We then get the two-part, two-track final act and album highlight “Auk and Chickadee” (i.e. the two birds on the cover. I Googled their names to make sure, by the way). Part 1 opens with two repeated notes from C.W.’s Can-o-Caster, amplified for a few seconds with a droning reverb before settling into a fully fleshed-out melody. In a moment of pure brilliance, a double bass from guest artist Bruno De La Rosa creeps into the mix, establishing the sweeping, epic feel this particular song will treat us to. After the 3:10 mark, C.W. delivers a SUPERBLY written first verse centered on mending a broken heart whilst “selling hearts” on Valentine’s Day that is nothing short of heartrending. Ajayi Desai, who appeared on “C.W. Franz V”, adds some tabla to the second verse, right where C.W. mentions how she found that his words had beauty. And then in a truly powerful moment, C.W. looks inward and declares that he’ll open his heart out to her so she can see what she knows: “heavenly moments”. Instead of bottling them up, he’ll express these moments to her through song. And from that revelation, C.W.’s strumming increases, building into a heavenly crescendo alongside the tabla and double bass. And then out of nowhere, guest performer Jose David shows up on timpani to guide the song into this wondrous climax! This bird is going to sing his heart out, with the hope that his former mate flies towards his nest at just the right time to hear him.

And just when your tear ducts have had enough, Part 2 begins, and I love how it just STARTS with no buildup or hesitation. Energized by the exuberance of Part 1, C.W. and Hexifice perform this joyous duet, with some support from the midpoint onward by Rodnell Matos who delivers a GORGEOUS solo via his mandolin. C.W. proceeds with a final tribute to his ex (revealed at this point to have auburn-colored hair), appreciating the memories they’ll continue to hold close to their hearts. And on the ambiguous closing line (“The rest is for ourselves to claim”), driven by the soothing sounds of Reinaldo Ocando’s marimba (Is this meant to represent the xylophone mentioned in that “Steamboat Willie” line on “Flying Over Home (Thinking of You)”?), we’re left with the hope that these two birds will continue to be a part of each other’s lives, regardless of the nest they each call home. And speaking of birds, the album’s outro involves a field recording – reminiscent of the ones used in “C.W. Franz IV” – of nature sounds presumably from a forest similar to the abovementioned album art.

On the Bandcamp liner notes, C.W. states that this album was “recorded in three days and then meticulously thought about for three months”. Initially, he was going to release it with just his voice and improvised Can-O-Caster compositions, but something told him to sit with it for a while. And I can safely say that it was a great thing he did, because the end result is arguably the BEST entry in the “C.W. Franz” series  and, dare I say it, his BEST ALBUM thus far!

Also according to the liner notes, “C.W. Franz IX” is described as a “labor of love” – and it ABSOLUTELY shows! From the artwork and the lyrics to the mood and sound of each song, EVERYTHING feels thoughtful and emotionally-driven! But the two standout aspects of this album are its themes and overall musical execution. Drawing from his collaborations with other artists on “American Byways”, his “Orange Diamond” and “Wells House” jam sessions and some of his previous “C.W. Franz” records, C.W. managed to get the best out of his long-distance musical collaborators. You can tell they deeply UNDERSTOOD the album’s themes of heartbreak, forgiveness and moving forward and as a result, they projected that understanding into every note they played. And I will make the argument that even if you’ve never listened to a C.W. Franz album before, self-titled or otherwise, the themes are so relatable and the music is so refined and well-conducted, you can easily get into the vibe of this record. 

I guess for me, great things really do come in threes – or in multiples of three – because now “C.W. Franz IX” stands tall as my top favorite in this self-titled series, with “VI” and “III” in the second and third spots respectively! And like “VI”, I REALLY don’t know how or if it’s possible for C.W. to top what he did on this latest installment! I guess we’ll see when “X” is released, and if it’s one thing we’ve learned from a successful movie franchise with nine entries (see “The Fast and the Furious” – and in the case of this point being made, “Hobbs & Shaw” doesn’t count), there will inevitably be a Part 10. But for now, “C.W. Franz IX” is one of this year’s best albums and it gets my highest recommendation!

OVERALL RATING: 10 out of 10

Now available on Bandcamp and Spotify

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