Come Quietly

Culled from the archive of unreleased songs by Zachary Cale comes two unearthed gems, available for the first time through All Hands Electric. Recorded during the interim of his second LP Walking Papers and his band Illuminations’ See-Saw LP, these two songs were originally cut as demos, but the fresh sound and spontaneity of the recordings warranted a release of their own.

“Come Quietly” is a field recording from the modern age, complete with chirping birds and the groan of passing cars. The song is a sort of noir narrative with lyrics that illustrate a dialogue between a captor and his captive. Taking cues from the pre-war folk tradition, Cale adopts the voice of both characters. Featuring mournful mandolins and tortured harmonicas over a countrified mariachi stomp, it’s as ragged and tuneful as folk music gets, and the inflections in Cale’s glass-breaking yowl recall some of Kurt Cobain’s acoustic demos from the Sup Pop heyday.

’The Wedding Party’ is a stream of consciousness ode to love with lyrical images floating by like faces in train windows. The vocal melody is undeniably catchy, sitting perfectly in the space between hypnotic fingerpicked guitar rhythms and ghost-like backing harmonies courtesy of Prudence Teacup. With it’s rapid-fire couplets and unabashed pop-minded melody it sounds kind of like Bob Dylan covering the Beach Boys in a dimly lit basement. The rush of images and the giddy, pulse-like rhythm makes ’The Wedding Party’ another classic in Zachary Cale’s growing canon of songs. —All Hands Electric