Stuart Pearson - American Gothic (Stuart Pearson)

Long Island-raised, Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist Pearson has released eight LPs since 2006; his latest is the third in a series of “Dark Americana” albums which began with 2020’s Dark Americana: Stories and Songs and continued on 2021’s Mojave. Like those two LPs, American Gothic brings to mind the desolate, spooky gothic country and noirish folk of The Handsome Family, especially that band’s captivating True Detective season one opening theme song, “Far From Any Road.” Pearson’s expressive, mysterious voice again alternates between a deep, foreboding Nick Cave-tinted baritone, a raspier, ornery Tom Waits-evoking growl, and actor/bass singer Thurl Ravenscroft’s low, ominous croon on Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas’s “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” But while Mojave was more expansive and ambitious in scope compared to its predecessor, AG demonstrates further progression, thanks to more elaborate, spacious production and arrangements.

Again pulling from his experience in the five-piece ‘90s outfit Through the Woods — which used 19 instruments on stage! — and his later improv musical “Life = Choices” in L.A., Pearson plays everything on the album except for Dan Hamilton’s spry fiddle that weaves through the tumultuous, foot-stomping opener, “We Are the Falling Rain.” That song, along with “Ticking Away” (which features “Losing My Religion”-eliciting mandolin, Portuguese guitarra, and frenzied, bleating siren and trumpet) and the invigorating, “Rock Lobster” meets “Monster Mash” meets The Cramps’ “The Crusher” dance craze send-up “The Devil Whammy,” are the album’s three most immediate, rock-oriented tracks.

The remaining eight numbers are more atmospheric and leisurely, but each contains plenty of intriguing and hypnotic flourishes that tickle the ear. Five of those are co-written by lyricist Hunter Lowry, who sings lead on one of them, the twinkling, childlike-cooed, calliope-backed “The Abandoned Carousel.” Throughout, her delicate, breathy voice provides a marked yet fitting contrast to Pearson’s dark brogue, as on the plodding, carnivalesque torch song “Where Are You?,” the thumping, ghostly Civil War ballad “Lochinvar” (named for an antebellum plantation house in Mississippi), the bluesy, cantankerous, jaw harp-flecked “Cropsey,” and the rain-saturated, “James Bond Theme”-conjuring “Runaway Girl.”

On the final two songs, the banjo-plucked, Ennio Morricone/spaghetti western-tinged “3 Feet From a Vein” and the cello-shaded, Scud Mountain Boys-like “One Old Coyote,” Lowry’s soulful, enticing backing vocals triple in breadth, replicating an angelic, spiritual choir. The former is based on 1889-1968 Ballarat, CA ghost town prospector and loner Charles “Seldom Seen Slim” Ferge, while the latter was influenced by the yarn art of the Huichol/Wixarika culture of Mexico, in particular artist Hilaria Chavez Carrillo, whose colorful painting graces AG‘s cover. Pearson may seek inspiration from austere, long-neglected stories and places, but his music and words always feel vibrant, modern, and enduring.

Artist Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube