Omaha, Nebraska songwriter
David Nance has long taken cues from classic rock and jam bands for his music, twisting the influence of rootsy starting points like
Crazy Horse-assisted
Neil Young, the
Grateful Dead, and mid-'70s
Stones into far noisier and experimental forms.
Staunch Honey is one of the clearest examples of this approach, with
Nance recording detailed, classic rock-informed tunes by himself in a scrappy home studio, resulting in a pleasantly dazed fidelity and shambling delivery of straightforward songs. Throughout the 11-song set,
Nance plays almost every instrument, being joined only occasionally by other players. The fuzzy, direct-to-tape sound in combination with shaky performances gives the entire album a woozy, distant feel. The repeating chorus from "The Merchandise" borrows a melody from an early
Grateful Dead tune and sings it with
Mick Jagger-level swagger. The influence of the
Dead shows up on album standout "Gentle Traitor" as well, with dual guitar leads harmonizing over a smiling tropical rhythm. Instead of presenting the song's summery hooks with clarity,
Nance coats the entire track in a loud woosh of phaser, obscuring any moments of accessibility in a wash of noise. Other songs have cleaner recording but maintain a cloudy atmosphere.
Nance's vocals are distorted and low in the mix on the
Velvet Underground-nicking "July Sunrise," and the minimal stomp of "When the Covers Come Off" sounds like a song that could have been left off of
Exile on Main St. for being too muddy by even that album's murky standards. The combination of roots rock reference points and lo-fi production becomes
Staunch Honey's defining element.
Nance offers a ragged reconfiguration of familiar styles and makes them his own by pushing them into weird new places. ~ Fred Thomas
