If the recent single, I Can’t Breathe, was a response to one specific dark chapter in the history of Tischleder‘s beloved Minneapolis, the writing of the song seems to raise more questions than it answered for him. Specifically, in light of these recent, tragic events, was the town that acted as the backdrop to his formative days always such a hate-filled place?
The only way to find out was to dig deep and not be afraid to not get the answers you might prefer. To this end, This Town is, in part at least, an odyssey through the heart of the city. Running on a rock ‘n’ soul groove, it is built from gorgeous textures and vibrant tones, pretty upbeat and groovesome and lyrically feeling like a furtive glimpse through someone else diary.
All Night Hamburger Stand and Falling Down Like Rain show that he is great when he decides to rock out but there are more Waitsian moments with the slightly off-kilter Bang The Drum and Riding With The Kings and also some real, foot on the monitor, Springsteen-esque anthemics on tracks like Marilyn Monroe.
A great record, part autobiographical, part street philosophy, part inward-looking, and part celebratory. Looks like he’s got it covered.
