Everyones allowed a past they dont care to mention, sings Bill Callahan on America!,
the distortion-driven and overtly political centerpiece of his most recent album, Apocalypse. In the context of the song, the line is likely a reference to the bloodier moments in our countrys history, but it also aptly describes the singer-songwriters career. Callahan used to record as Smog, releasing dissonant lo-fi cassette recordings that grew in fidelity and complexity as he signed to Drag City and eventually released his first album under his own name in 2007. On 2009s mellow and inviting Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle, that past sound was hard to find, but it partially returns on Apocalypse, a rawer album that isnt afraid to compromise the smoothness of its predecessor. Callahan may not care to mention his past, but perhaps he should: it continues to inform his esoteric, beautifully fractured songwriting. With Michael Chapman. ANDREW GOSPE
Wed., June 22, 8 p.m., 2011
