One of the things that never fails to surprise me is how Cass McCombs’ songs are so strangely disarming. It seems like it would be easy to write off or dismiss McCombs’ dreamy, floating folk songs as lightweight or overtly dramatic, but I still have yet to be able to do it. The latest example of this is a song from his most recent album, Catacombs. The song is a slow, breezy track that floats along in an ether-like haze, supported by the lush production and McCombs’ easy going singing. The words, which become kind of funny after checking out the song title, focus on someone who does their job, not for money or status, but because they love what they are doing. With lyrics like “I may not get paid as much but I more than make up/With an enormous sense of self-worth,” I initially took them to be about a school teacher or a social worker. Much to my amusement however, when I looked at the back of the CD the song was titled “The Executioner’s Song.” The surprises keep coming with this guy. No matter how much it seems like Cass McCombs should be boxed in as a run of the mill singer/songwriter, he keeps proving time and time again how he is a uniquely talented voice in a genre that can often be stale and repetitive.

Cass McComb “The Executioner’s Song” (mp3)

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