Review by LarryG
3 stars out of 4
Joe Henry is a unique, interesting artist. His 1997 release Trampoline
was a revelation; a brilliant textured work. The songs were moody, slow
percussive pieces with great grooves and lyrics filled with ambivalence.
Ohio Air Show Place Crash was based on the image of the moment before
the crash, slowly digging deeper and deeper into the groove. Fuse is
filled with more hypnotic, carefully constructed songs. It starts well
with Monkey, Henry's tale of patiently waiting and serving his love's
memory until she comes back. The spare, echoing music creates a sense
of living for sensation as do the lyrics, "I'll chew my lip to keep
it sore." Henry's raspy, strangled sounding vocals serve his tales
of fascination with the dark side and finding beauty in strange places.
Like She Was a Hammer is a fascinating tale of obsession and a great
example of how Henry combines his croaking vocals, layered drums and
keyboard effects to create an undeniable groove. Fuse often has a dreamy
feeling which is best appreciated if you can get into the right trippy
mood.
Sometimes Henry's understated, poker face delivery can be a little too
much. After six minutes of the deliberate Want Too Much, you might want
to say, I get it, you want too much. The self satisfied account of his
needs is less interesting than the fascinated, voyeuristic tales of
Trampoline. With the help of similarly interested T-Bone Burnett, Henry
clearly is very careful crafting the sound. The precise, layered soundscape
is a large part of Henry's appeal. Still, after a while a little rocking
and spontaneity is welcome. Live, many of he songs have improved thanks
to big, well played drums and a slighty looser feeling. Skin and Teeth
rocks more than anything else on Fuse or Trampoline. Because Henry's
normally so reserved, it's a touching surprise when he opens his heart
so freely, singing "I love you with my skin and teeth" over
music that replaces the murkiness of much of the record with a simple
driving beat. Great Lake is also helped by Henry showing a little emotion
as well as a wry sense of humor. Maybe Fuse could have used a little
more juice but his daring to work in a lo-fi idiosyncratic idiom is a
large part of his charm. With the exception of a pointless remake of
We'll Meet Again, Fuse is always interesting and it's often great.
Here's what others reviewers have to say:
"...Next to Henry's enchantingly elusive new album, FUSE, his
breakthrough TRAMPOLINE seems like a baby step. The songs still have
gorgeous bone structure, but by sacrificing their meticulousness, Henry
achieves a more enigmatic beauty..." 8 (out of 10) Spin 5/99, p.152
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