There’s no point in mentioning what number Varied Superstitions, the latest album from The Black Watch takes in the L.A. band’s three-and-a-half-decades deep catalog. By the time this posts, it’s possible another album is on the way from one of the most prolific writers in rock. Besides, what’s always been most astonishing about bandleader John Andrew Frederick’s songs isn’t how many of them there are, but how many of them are good. For someone who averages at least one album a year (especially since he retired from his day job), the quality-to-crap ratio skews very heavily to the former.
That hasn’t changed with Varied Superstitions. Opening cut “It is What It Isn’t” kicks off the record with impressive strength, not only because Frederick’s signature blend of heart and wit is still going strong, but because the track represents real progression. Far from being an example of TBW’s usual ultra-melodic jangle pop, the production fuzzes everything up, mixing the vocals on the same level as a forceful rhythm, distorted guitars, and an ethereal atmosphere – making it easy to get lost in the song’s seven-minute length. (One is tempted to credit the record’s appearance on Bevis Frond leader Nick Saloman’s label Blue Matter for the sonic makeover, but in truth the album would likely sound the same if it was on Universal Music.) The rest of the songs benefit from these and other enhancements – the haunting synthesizer in “Jolly Melancholy,” the melting crunch of “Living Backwards,” the elevated singing on “Some People Will Believe,” the percolating rhythm (are those…congas?) driving “Your Clothes Sir” – take already strong cuts and make them even better.
Given Frederick’s oft-noted influences – the Cure, My Bloody Valentine, less famous artists like Idaho and the Lucy Show – few of the new soundwaves are a huge surprise. (Maybe the congas.) But the way the elements work together here puts Various Superstitions on the next level. The old dog that is TBW didn’t need to learn new tricks – nearly every release contains a bucket overflowing with melodic gems. But being willing to move things around and shift perspective in the arrangements makes Varied Superstitions one of The Black Watch’s best records in a long time.
