by Ljubinko Zivkovic (@zivljub)
More often than not, there’s a good reason why an independent band creates a staunch fanbase, no matter whether they make it big or not. The duo of guitarist and vocalist Molly Hamilton and guitarist Robert Earl Thomas that operate as Widowspeak built their fanbase on the five previous albums and two EP's that they released from 2011 on, and some great languid rock those releases contained. In that respect, there aren't many changes on The Jacket. It is, simply said, a beautiful collection of ten songs that seamlessly flow one into the other, that those familiar with Widowspeak will immediately cherish. For those not so familiar with what Hamilton and Thomas are about, if their hearts warm up when Hope Sandoval or Elysian Fields come up with a new release, this is exactly what they were waiting for.
Yet, the fact that the songs on The Jacket seem to have some sort of unity is not accidental. Actually, Hamilton and Thomas, went for a concept, a story about a fictional band. Keeping true to their somewhat left-field (in the right way) concepts, the album tells a story of leaving the life of daily security (working on outfits for various artists) to joining a band that goes from doing covers to writing original material. While on the surface it may sound a bit corny in the fashion of some blown out of proportion rock concept albums of the seventies, Hamilton and Thomas go the unassuming, intelligent way about it with their lyrics. Widowspeak support the theme with some incredible vocals by Hamilton (try the opener "While You Wait" or "True Blue" for size) and some tight, sparse, and eventually great guitar work, particularly on the title track.
It is obvious that throughout the album Widowspeak draw on quite a wide source of musical ideas, like the subtle soul undertones of "Unwind." All this not only makes The Jacket a concept album that works, but also probably the most mature album Widowspeak have come up with so far.