As if singer and songwriter John Andrew Frederick wasn’t prolific enough, he had to go and make a double album. Amazingly, For All the World is the first double in the thirty-five-plus year catalog of The Black Watch. Recorded in both Frederick’s native California and in Austin, Texas, FATW has everything most of the other TBW albums have: catchy melodies inspired as much by underground UK guitar pop as the Beatles, lyrics that weave together wide-eyed romanticism with dry wit, Frederick’s middle-aged man next door croon, and the kind of production clarity that makes it sparkle in living color. That said, as he did with the previous LP Weird Rooms, Frederick gives his collaborators some flexibility here, letting them adorn his songs with what they think makes them shinier. The widescreen vista of “Maybe Tomorrow Then” shimmers alongside the squalling psych and roll of “Surely You Rally.” The Flaming Lips-like sunshine (acid) pop of “Early Departure” floats dreamily while the Belle & Sebastian acoustic pop of “There’s a Place” seduces smartly. And is that (gasp) a dance groove powering “Not For Us?” Those who prefer their TBW to still sound like Flowering (or The King of Good Intentions or The End of When) will have plenty of tracks in which to luxuriate as well; after all, there aren’t many other writers working who can fill up sixty-seven minutes with songs as good as “In the Dark,” “Bright Blue Sun, Gold Sky,” or “Spanish Vamp.” Frederick is usually unusually consistent in his quality, and that holds as true on For All the World as on any of the strongest records in his catalog.
