A walk through the Norton Simon Art Museum in Pasadena, California some years ago and discovering a painting from India inspired the title of Grant-Lee Phillips’ twelfth solo album `In The Hour Of Dust`. He shares that it was the evocative Indian concept of ‘the hour of cow dust’ – that moment of the day when the cows are led back home, they kick up the dust; that’s a cue to prepare the lamps. Night is about to fall.”
We are guided into the album via `Little Men`, a fairly gentle number with such a strong message of freedom based on a firm belief in humanity. It`s piano driven with a recurring rolling drum beat and has an arrangement that sounds almost orchestral and expansive. The inquiring title `Did You Make It Through the Night Okay` may seem a throwaway enquiry but it’s a greeting translated from the Muskogee (Creek) language “Estonkon cukhayvtikv.” that the artist, who is an enrolled citizen, felt was perfect for expressing these difficult times. The track itself has a delicate aesthetic and although a simple question between two people it seems to take on a much more substantial significance.
`Closer Tonight` appears to express the singer`s fears about the balance of technological developments against unrestrained callous indifference. A number that gently flows with strummed guitar, piano keys and a brushed drum allowing it`s anxieties a more reflective platform. We have in `Bullies` a song co-written with pianist Jamie Edwards, the first co-write to appear on any of Phillips’ albums and as the title suggests perhaps doesn`t need an explanation. A quiet contemplative musing on personal oppression, wider intimidation, and the need to resist this tyranny.
`Stories We Tell` is a stripped back almost introspective reflection, conceivably on life, the universe and everything, whereas we have a deeply personal testament to partnerships and vulnerability with `She Knows Me`. An intimate, moving, and tender exaltation of having that somebody in your life who kind of knows all your quirks, good and bad and is always there for you.
`Someone` has a dreaminess about it and is a further observation on how we become almost isolated from friends at times as we age. There`s a similar sentiment in `No Mistaking` but this time its in praise of a partner who has suck with you through the good and bad times.
`Dark Ages` is almost balladlike and has an optimistic sense that better times are there to be had. About `American Lions` GLP has shared that the song is “a meditation on the long arc of history and the unfathomable changes I’ve witnessed in my lifetime” A quite intensive echo on mortality maybe.
GLP leaves us with a final assured consideration with `Last Corner of The Earth` a calm and peaceful meditation but with an underlying message of hope for a brighter future that permeates this composition.
`In The Hour Of Dust` is one of those albums that needs a few listens to really infuse and pervade your psyche. It`s delightfully introspective and thought provoking that seems to come from a maturity of age. The arrangements on this offering are graceful and exquisitely atmospheric. It`s been three years since his last release and well worth the wait. Grant-Lee Phillips is over for a few dates around the country next month playing some genuinely intimate venues which will allow him to share this latest opus, certainly a must see opportunity.
Rating 8.5/10
