Wabi Sabi is an inventive collection of musicians. Its album, The Love Insane, brings together eleven memorable rock/pop songs.
The album’s title track is a slow-tempo-d song that sounds like a love song from the early days of rock and roll. It prominently features steel guitar, but it’s not a country tune. Instead, this instrumentation stands in where a backing orchestra might usually be found. Love and insanity are terms that go together well in pop songs. One need only think back to Patsy Cline singing “Crazy.” When the numbers don’t add up and nothing seems to make sense in a relationship, one can begin to believe sanity is leaving us on a fast train. The singer expresses fighting for love on it, even though the fight seems like a losing battle. Love can sometimes be like that, like it or not.
There’s plenty of musical variety contained on these near-dozen songs. One that stands out is called “I Am Ok.” It includes a full band arrangement, including a horn section. It moves in places to a reggae groove. It has a romantic/spiritual vibe running through its lyrics. The singer was ‘just okay” until he met someone. Was this a lover? Could this have been God? Either/or of these possibilities fit. Reggae grooves appear again during “New Life.” However this one incorporates more of a jazzy lead vocal. Its electric guitar solo, accompanied by horns, gives it a Steely Dan feel, as well. One of the offshoots of reggae is ska (or is it the other way around?) Anyhow, “Sick Tuna” alternates between ska rhythms and reggae ones.
Drums kick off “The Fall,” for a full twenty seconds before a violin section comes in, like violins on a mariachi tune. This is no mariachi song, though, as it includes an angry lyric – presumably about a sinking, falling relationship. It also includes synth lines running through it. Oddly enough, drums – in the form of a drum roll – introduce “Please Rescue Me,” which is driven by a heartfelt lead vocal.
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If you’re looking for an electric guitar-powered song, you’ll need to wait until song ten, “Spacetime,” which begins with a crunchy electric guitar opening riff that is soon joined by horns. The album closes with “The Weirdo Blues,” a woozy, disorienting song built upon acoustic piano. It may be called a blues song, but it doesn’t exactly follow a blues music chord pattern. Instead, it sounds a bit like circus music where this poor soul is trapped in a troupe of wacky performers. When the line, “My Judas smile betrays me,” the track takes on a Biblical angle.
With its variety of instruments, The Love Insane gives the ear plenty to focus on. It’s constantly changing from song to song and will keep you on your toes. Love is crazy, it’s true, and crazy sonic variety is probably the best way to approach such craziness. This is strong album, with a bevy of musical moments to remember. Songs are so good, in fact, you may come away with a new favorite every time you listen to it.
-Dan MacIntosh
