These two full albums - one acoustic and one electric, with ten tracks apiece– are released simultaneously to reflect the duality of this Chicago-based singer-songwriter’s compositional style: “This time I thought make a quiet record and a loud one”, he says.
It marks a recording history spanning more than 30 years during which McDermott has fought his demons in public
‘Lighthouse on the Shore’ is the quiet one and features poignant ballads mostly based around gentle piano and orchestral arrangements. These are a survivor’s tales that come after a decade of sobriety; “This time I ain’t gonna fall” is McDermott’s pledge on Gonna Rise Up while I am Not My Father is a mid-tempo ballad about his battle against the makeup of his DNA.
‘East Jesus’ is the loud album with more stadium orientated anthemic rockers enabling McDermott’s gravelly, Springsteen-esque vocals to come more to the fore. It was recorded and mixed at Transient Sound in Chicago and Pauper Sky Studio in Orland Park, Illinois and features McDermott on guitars, piano, and vocals; Heather Lynne Horton on fiddle and vocals; Grant Tye on guitars; Matt Thompson on bass; Steven Gillis on drums; Will Kimbrough on guitars and banjo; John Deaderick on keyboards and organ; and Gerald Dowd on additional drum work.
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The paean to hope of A Head Full of Rain sums up the mood of this record: “It’s sunny every day but sometimes the clouds get in the way.” The more psychedelic touches and chants of Quicksand add a little variety but on the whole there’s a numbing predictability to these songs.
Taking as whole it all amounts to decent driving music but deep insights are thin on the ground. The thrust of McDermott’s life philosophy consists of variations on the theme that love conquers all.
However, the identity crisis he relates in the closing track - Whose Life I’m Living - is a reminder that things are a little more complex than this. Therein lies the rub.
Michael McDermott’s website
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