Ohhhh, is this going to be one of those reviews where we try to be cheeky and make the opening paragraph all “What we initially thought we were going to start with was this but then we went in this other direction instead…” and try to sneakily sneak in all of what we wanted to talk about in there anyway? Sort of. But not really. Because we feel with such a great modern storyteller such as Cameron Keiber, there needs to be some stories told in discussing upcoming debut solo album Nurser.
And in the case of Keiber, it make all the more sense having first been introduced to his songwriting talents via nerd shenanigans on a comic book/pop culture-themed radio show on the now defunct WEMF (Rest in Power Mary Frances Church and Deathkiss Radio!) which led to us discovering the music of The Beatings and then Eldridge Rodriguez.
While we’ve said it a bunch over time regarding artists that just cause us to drop everything to focus on what’s new from them, there’s an elite few in that circle who will get a Joker in 1989’s Batman “Stop the press!” moment every single time news or new music happens. Anything Cameron Keiber-related is in that category.
Keiber’s knack for sonic storytelling is stripped down and bare here and speaking of bare, Nurser sort of reminds us of some less bombastic follow-up’s to mega records like R.E.M.’s New Adventures In Hi-Fi or Smashing Pumpkins’ Adore (Following Monster and Mellon Collie… respectively) with a mix of early Springsteen, electric Dylan, and Stan Ridgway thrown in for good measure. Intrigued yet? We know we were when this project was announced!
“Habsburg Jaw” immediately sets the tone with programmed beats and synthetic flourishes interspersed when the rest of Keiber’s multi-instrumentalist arsenal comes into play while his unmistakable voice commands skating between Alto and Bass runs that are strong yet serene before a heavenly chorus cements the opener as the gold standard of what’s to come. “Beach Party Iran 1970” has a bass Groove that’s big and bodacious and shares more than a little of its’ beginning DNA with “Proud Mary” as “Black Bear”, about the death of Keiber’s father, practically floats on air with Cameron’s somber story drifting in another plane of existence with lyrics that are equally powerful and poignant.
Mel Lederman provides the beautiful piano lines that lead “A Newer Year” in amidst beats programmed like a militaristic snare or dum line as a haunting choir and harmonica fade in and out of the forefront while later, on “Jane Fonda with a Bow”, Lederman once agains accents Keiber’s creations with those piano stylings on a track that’s playful and something one can almost almost picture being played at some smoky music hall having paid for dinner and a show.
“Sons and Daughters” sounds like it could easily come off either a classic Bruce Springsteen record of the ’80’s (Think Nebraska), some of the early New Wave/Electronic albums tantamount to that time as well (Love and Rockets springs to mind for this part), or The Killers circa Sam’s Town (Their own Springsteen run in our opinion) and Sawdust… or all three of those combined to form this wondrous track that touches on protecting the LGBTQ+ community.
“Forever 25” is a subdued anthem, “Landmine Teen” is a moving acoustic-driven compact aria, and “Never Let Me Go” is a burgeoning mover that’s yet another Nurser gem solidifying how hard it is for us to fathom this record not ending up on many, if not all, year end best lists (We already have a spot reserved). Further in, “Deadloop” is a Keiber voice showcase with broad passages highlighting his phenomenal range before the most straight forward song of the bunch, “Release”, arrives to close out the album in the most oft-kilter but vibrant way possible which is par for the course here and makes perfect sense in the grand scheme of all things Nurser.
Nurser arrives through Midriff Records on March 14th and you can check out streaming and physical options right now by heading here. For more from Cameron Keiber, including info about upcoming shows and projects, follow the trail of socials across the interwebs when you click here, here, or here.