Joe Pernice
Big Tobacco
Ashmont Records

Joe Pernice is astonishingly prolific for a songwriter whose muse runs the lines of crippling depression. A love song to a television set, the tale of a drug-addled ex dying in a one-car accident and a suicide letter put to song have all found their way into his catalog. His unfailing melodic sense and whispery, tobacco-haunted vocals have long rendered his writerly sadness a joy to hear.

Pernice's songs first saw the light of day on albums by the Scud Mountain Boys. The Scuds' take on alt-country involved dressing up Joe's sad pop songs in twangy guitar, weeping steel and strummy mandolin. The band copped some traditional country moves while integrating less "respectable" mainstream Seventies influences like Jim Croce and Bread. After that combo ran its course, Joe formed the Pernice Brothers and dove headfirst into a classic pop that melds Big Star and Bacharach, pausing only to sneak out some sleepy home recordings under the Chappaquiddick Skyline moniker.

Big Tobacco, nominally a solo album although it features most of the Pernice Brothers cast of characters, continues Joe's mission of bringing exquisite sadness to the people. Originally released on a German label in 2000, the album finally sees Stateside release on Pernice's own Ashmont label in October 2001.

On this solo outing, Pernice reconciles his countrified past and the honey harmonies of his recent work with satisfying results. More prominently acoustic-centered and smaller-scale than the work of the string section-enhanced Pernice Brothers, this record finds a place for banjo plucks, slide motifs and strains of steel guitar alongside gentle keyboards and jangly 12-string leads.

The songs address or speak for the usual suspects: has-beens slumped on barstools, oblivion-seeking pill-poppers and heartbroken sad sacks obsessing over ex-lovers. Most of the time the harsh subject matter is matched with light, poppy accompaniment. Quite characteristically, "Undertow" goes down ironically breezy with lyrics' pitiful details of a loser's life providing the only heft to the track. Likewise, album-opener "Prince Valium" gorgeously pleads, "Help me Lord, get me stoned again." "The Pill" somewhat obliquely bemoans the life of a sub-pop star over a loose, swinging beat before bursting into a catchy refrain.

Nonetheless, the album's most affecting moment comes from "Bum Leg," where the darkest subject matter meets ominous minor-key strums. It's a slice of almost-life that recalls the most nihilistic moments of Raymond Carver's short stories, narrated by a limping drifter who confesses "I'm a ghost, I'll be fading with the light." There's still some sugar, but not nearly enough to obscure the abyss that awaits the song's main character.

A side path of Joe Pernice's musical journey, Big Tobacco stands up with his best work so far and is recommended for those who take a little bitter with their sweet.

— Wayne Lewis (capsighs@pacbell.net)