Back in 1995, when Nick Lowe was promoting his last superb album, The Impossible Bird, he was asked during a taping of NPR’s “Fresh Air” program if he felt his current songs carried less irony than his previous works. Amid some laughter, he responded that while it wasn’t a case of “OK, I’ve grown up now, the joke is over,” he made a casual and non-disparaging reference to past efforts as “boy’s music.” “I’ve been a boy, and it was a lot of fun, but it’s time to move on”.
One of the few ironies you’ll find in Lowe’s masterful new effort is the nudge-nudge, wink-wink wryness of its title. Dig My Mood extends the melancholic themes explored on The Impossible Bird, but Lowe has actually drilled down even deeper this time. What has been exposed is a hollowed and haunted man rife with self-loathing, one whose own morality has been flayed and put on display for the listener.
The second track, “Lonesome Reverie”, is a dead-on summation of the album as a whole. Against a backdrop of soulful organ and minimal but stellar guitar work, the song’s protagonist reluctantly reflects on a broken relationship and what might have been, oblivious to the fact that someone is eavesdropping on this somber confessional. But it’s delivered with such a lush elegance that it’s easy to be distracted from the dispirited lyrics.
Though there’s really not a bad cut on the record, a couple songs particularly stand out. “High On The Hilltop” opens with the line “I might as well face it/I’m the losing kind” before allowing that the possibility of salvation lies out there somewhere for the taking — it just may take some time to locate. And the cover of Ivory Joe Hunter’s “Cold Grey Light Of Dawn” is a rolling blues number highlighted by a gorgeous string arrangement and dandy guitar work, smartly closing an often bleak listening experience with a little tongue-in-cheek Lowe grin.
Elsewhere, “Faithless Lover” is enveloped in atmospheric reverb, with a noir-ish guitar line that makes the song a candidate for the next David Lynch film; “What Lack Of Love Has Done” and “Lead Me Not” are both straight-up Muscle Shoals-driven soul; “You Inspire Me” is smoky cocktail-club jazz that I half-expect to hear Mel Torme sing one day; and “The Man That I’ve Become” is steady western twang that, like “The Beast In Me”, could have been written for Johnny Cash.
Throughout, the record resonates with a relaxed, after-hours vibe, as does the playing. Geraint Watkins (piano/organ) and Steve Donnelly (guitar) prove that restraint can equal flash, while Lowe has never sounded better. You can add his voice to the list of pleasures that enjoy the benefit of mellowing from years of aging.
