Alpha Mule - Peripheral Vision (2017)

OFFICIAL: http://www.alphamulemusic.com/

BANDCAMP: https://alphamule.bandcamp.com/

Written by Raymond Burris, posted by blog admin

Alpha Mule’s ten song debut Peripheral Vision reminds us that traditional music doesn’t need to be considered the purview of aging folkies and museum studies. The forms they utilize over the course of the album’s ten songs remain vital vehicles for self expression and they bring a number of modern touches to bear along the way that enriches the already exceptional songwriting. There are no covers to be found on this release; a pleasant enough surprise. Instead, Joe Forkan and Eric Stoner navigate listeners through an exceptional musical ride that never sounds stilted or imitative. They do a superb job crafting tunes that are reminiscent of longstanding classics in their respective genres yet stand alone as individual works. Peripheral Vision is a wonder in 2017/2018 – a traditionally minded album that, nonetheless, speaks vividly about the creative hearts behind its composition and rife with the sort of kinetic chemistry between players that’s long been a staple of the art.

“Corpus Christi” is the album’s first tune and, far and away, its most self-consciously evocative moment. This is a near ideal example of how the musicians bring modern music making techniques into the traditional music picture and it remains, by album’s end, one of its best tunes. The second track “On the Moon” throws off some low-heat jazzy sparks without ever getting too fancy about it while still culling its sound from the duo’s customary array of influences. There’s a sense of humor with this tune that shows the songwriting’s thorough understanding of traditional country and blues songwriting ethos while never entirely aping them. Some modern touches come through on the track “The Distance” as well – namely the keyboards adding color at critical points in the track. Outside of that, however, there’s still another sturdy traditional spine that makes the song stand straight up for listeners. “Pavlov” moves the album in a clearer blues direction with great success and boasts, arguably, the album’s best lyric.

The move into the blues continues with the song “Mule in the Mine”. Forkan and Stoner draw from a wealth of traditional blues and classic country imagery for this one, but it’s vividly drawn regardless and they bring their own idiosyncratic brand of humor to the piece that enhances its pathos. “The Ballad of Huell Howser” promises, on title alone, something longer, but this sparkling musical workout never overstays its welcome and stands as a model of musical concision quite unlike anything else on Peripheral Vision. The album’s final song “Empire” shows off some larger concerns than the typical micro we hear in the early tunes and the traditional form proves more than capable of sustaining these big thoughts without sounding like it lacks something. Alpha Mule’s Peripheral Vision is a winner from first