Robbie Fulks
Couples In Trouble
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Robbie Fulks
Couples In Trouble
Boondoogle, 2001
RiYL: Steve Earle, Buck Owens, BR549 |
He certainly toured throughout the past few years, and released a faux-greatest hits collection full of outtakes and unreleased material last year, but for the large part, Fulks hadn't issued anything new for upwards of three years.
Well, his new album Couples In Trouble is certainly worth the wait. Picking up right where the underrated Let's Kill Saturday Night left off, Fulks demonstrates a seemingly new-found confidence in both his songwriting and voice -- resulting in his best effort to date.
Fulks' trademarks prior to Saturday Nightconsisted mainly of rootsy rave-ups with quirky, pointed, off-beat, and sometimes offensive lyrics. He never seemed to take his songwriting seriously, as evidenced in earlier tunes like "She Took A Lot Of Pills And Died" from his 1996 debut, and "Fuck This Town" from 1997's Southmouth.
But on Saturday Night, Fulks started getting a little more serious. Whereas his early material contained standard country fare lyrically, on his major-label debut, Fulks tackled darker themes like death and dismemberment on the breathtaking "Night Accident," and questioned his own mortality on "God Isn't Real." Although many fans derided the album, it certainly laid the foundation for his newest offering.
Couples In Trouble marks a major stepping-up for Fulks. Released under his own label, the album is as close to a concept record as he could get. Each of the 13 songs presents two people -- be it lovers, brothers, fathers, sisters -- in some sort of conflict. Lyrically, the album is more expressive and demanding than anything he's ever released, and musically, Fulks checks in all expectations at the door, plowing his way from genre to genre, eventually settling into a groove through the middle of the album.
The album's first track, "In Bristol Town One Bright Day," is his nod to Appalachian folklore, as the singer is accompanied only with his quiet acoustic guitar, telling the tale of a young woman selling her soul to the devil. From there, Fulks gets louder with "Anything For Love" and the World War I buddy tale "Dancing On The Ashes."
Fulks takes his first real chance on the tune "My Tormentor," an icy piano-driven ballad about a man haunted by the ghost of his former lover that would make even Frank Sinatra proud.
"Wide-eyed and tender / Frail as candlelight / My tormentor and mine alone," Fulks croons over a hushed piano track.
Fulks voice is the real instrument in this song, as for the first time in the studio he captures the essence of his powerful, yet soothing vocals.
The album does contain a couple missteps, notably the slow moving "Real Money" and the abrupt "Brenda's New Stepfather," but those are exceptions, not the rule. Still, try as Fulks may to mix genres, he seems most comfortable when sticking to the basics. Quick, catchy guitar and piano hooks drive "Mad At A Girl," while he is at his best in the straightforward "Banks of the Marianne," a tune that wouldn't have felt out of place on any of his earlier recordings.
In one sense, Fulks has come full circle with Couples In Trouble, covering all the bases he can. But in another, the album plows such new ground that Fulks hasn't simply come full circle, he's writing circles around almost everyone else.
RODEO ROB | An expert on all things "alt," Rob spends his days covering the energy industry and his nights covering the DC-area bars. Raise yer glass especially high to this man, for he has contributed to this site constantly since its creation four years ago.