Twentieth-century Southern literature has a penchant for displaying the linkages between the physically disturbing and the emotionally unsettling. Take for your consideration the stream-of-consciousness stylings of William Faulkner, the sympathetic stories of the weird from Flannery O’Conner, the existential meanderings of Walker Percy, or the beauty that is Harper Lee’s opus To Kill A Mockingbird. It seems that the region’s literary greats cast a very striking and different image of the mystique of Southern living than is presented in popular culture. In these novels, people’s hearts, minds, and lives are held up for all to examine, not because they are broken, bleeding, and deserve to be critiqued, but because, whether they will admit to it or not, everyone can and should be able to relate to the emotional disturbances experienced by the characters in Southern literature.
And it’s with a similar passion for pathos that The Black Swans present their newest release, Change!, a collection of weepy, brooding songs about a motley group of characters and their deepest inner workings. Appalachian and Gothic in feel and tone, this is a record charged with a profound vulnerability and a grave admiration for that vulnerability, as the stories find the characters reaching up and out of their respective sloughs of despair. With standout tracks that include “Hope Island,” “Shake,” and “Slide On Down,” The Black Swans deftly merge glistening guitars, morose violins, and understated brushed drums together to create a poised and subtle soundtrack to the intense lyrics. The album bends away from the overly emotional and egocentric songs that have come to embody the contemporary folk-rock sound, as the focus is removed from the singer’s personal angst and is placed upon the trials and tribulations of the characters in the story. Thus, the listener does not mope and sulk along with the figure on stage, instead allowing themselves to honor and respect the tragic-comic figures in the story. Indeed, Change! is a welcome change.
-- Adam P. Newton
