In the past Karl Blau has been inspired by A.A. Milne. On Nature’s Got Away he conjures up a fabulous landscape somewhere between dreams and wakefulness. This unfussy yet 3D music seems almost theatrical in an era where 1.5 dimensions are too often the norm.Karl Blau’s collaborations ( D+, Microphones, Mt Eerie, Laura Viers) and his solo work have drawn plenty of praise. This time around he should get stellar press as he’s topped his previous efforts with a consistently fine record that at times appears to be channeling Samuel Becket, Neil Young and Tom Zé. The first few tracks have a lively feel with drums, bass, guitars and spry witticisms to the fore. This sprightly atmosphere contrasts with Blau’s thoughtful lyrical hi-jinks and gives them a measure of profound weight. He manages to sing the line “Heartbeats with accompanying moans” in a way that recognizes that to be alive is to suffer, yet offers encouragement and fun! Similarly he can sing about feeling nothing “betwixt the tomb and the womb” (in a neat counter-clockwise take on Beckett’s “born astride the grave”) but balance that with a distorted Carpenters reference at the end of the first song: “Just like me, they long to be…getting out of Dodge.”
So far so good, but at the halfway point of the album I expected one of three things to happen: the quality of the songs would fade badly, or they would simply repeat what had gone before, with diminishing returns, or attempts at variety would seem forced and would splinter the intensity. However, beginning with “Mockingbird Diet” Blau hits his stride and what follows is absolutely irrepressible. The fluid brilliance and rhythmic nuance we hear on “Of Your Feet, Of Your Place”, “Stream of Ganders” and “That’s the Breaks” might be the record's peak. Consequently, although “2 Becomes 1” is marvelously direct, it feels like a fever has broken. Cleverly, Blau’s voice seems to get deeper throughout Nature’s Got Away as if he were imitating an entire career in a single album. The title of the disc is nicely ambiguous although the Randy California aspect is probably just a figment of my imagination. Hopefully, Karl Blau can maintain the impression of meandering, of going with the flow, even as he carefully plots his upward course.
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