Troy Campbell – American Breakdown
It’s been five years since the Loose Diamonds — Austin’s genuine link between its heady, 1980s indie/roots-rock days (think True Believers) and its contemporary status as alt-country haven — decided to suspend their career. Since then, guitarist Scrappy Jud Newcomb has proved to be a jack-of-all-trades on the Austin scene, collaborating with countless artists onstage and in the studio. The other Diamond principal, Troy Campbell, has trod a quieter path; but his second solo outing, American Breakdown, is likely to change that.
Where Campbell’s 1999 solo debut, Man Vs. Beast, was a (mostly) muted, impressionistic affair, prone to sonic experimentation that showed only flashes of Campbell’s true strengths, American Breakdown finds him returning to the peak of his singing and songwriting powers for the first time since the Diamonds’ 1993 album Burning Daylight. Campbell and ace producer Gurf Morlix have fashioned a cool, brooding sound; the shadowy noir of the title track demonstrates how perfect Morlix’s velvety production is for Campbell’s dusky, haunted voice.
Themes of disconnectedness and the transitory nature of life run through the songs, particularly the Twilight Zone-ish title cut. The album culminates in a guitar-driven tour de force, “Home After Dark”, an ominous, edgy narrative about a love affair gone terribly awry (written by Dan Stuart and resurrected from his Can O’ Worms album).
These sinister-sounding tracks are balanced by several strikingly intimate, open-hearted ballads. The gorgeous “World Of Tears”, an existential treatise, features Campbell’s most delicate, aching vocal. “Sleepin’ Without You”, is even better, a glistening, moonlit love song evocative of Roy Orbison at his most sublime. And then there’s the irresistible yet fatalistic mountain jig, “Rosebelle”, a song rooted in the coal mines of Campbell’s Appalachian roots.
A trenchant effort by any standard, American Breakdown is where this hugely talented artist finally puts it all together.