Western Fifth “Stand Like A Thief” Review
Western Fifth are an alt-country band cut very distinctly in the cloth of the last 20 years of Minneapolis rock and roll. If you have heard any of the bands that have fallen in this genre during that time period, you have heard the Western Fifth. If you have a deep seated impression of the alt-country genre that is firmly entrenched, you can safely assume that this disc will only serve to strengthen your resolve. If you love the down trodden song writing with lap steel and some strings, this disc will hit the spot for you. If you find the music and lyrical content repetitive (and too prevalent in the Twin Cities music scene), this disc is not the thing for you. That being said, the band creates a strong record within the context of their genre with their new album Stand Like a Thief.
The album is filled with the normal points of reference for an alt-country record. The music is comprised of the usual suspects, with Rhodes piano, bass and acoustic guitar keeping the rhythm with some lap steel and stinging electric guitar adding some flair. The album also features some trumpet and fiddle (their term… I was going to put violin, but the liner notes clearly state it is a fiddle) that add to the strong Americana vibe. Lead singer Ryan Holweger’s lyrical matter finds him treading familiar waters, with lots of talk of drinking and cigarettes with a healthy dose of deep rooted regret thrown in to match the timbre of the music. The album leads off with two of its strongest tracks, “We’ve got the Rain” and “Hello, Goodnight.” “We’ve got the Rain” has a punchy keyboard line with Holweger crooning “Hey sweet darlin’, get your ass out of bed,” only to finish it with the warning “pretty soon you’ll be dead.” “Hello, Goodnight” is a song that stands out for its simplicity but also for its seemingly genuine depressed feel. The song does not seem to have a specific person in mind, but it goes over the problem of people looking for love in all of the wrong places. The main lyrical component is Holweger singing the lines “People will never stop loving people who won’t love them back.” The song titled “(title)” is one of the more optimistic feeling tracks and features slightly lighter music with lyrics like “For the first time in my life I don’t feel alone.” Later in the album, Holweger tackles the long lost love of a girl in a great track titled “Madeline.”
The album has a certain cohesiveness to it, with even the album cover an liner notes featuring rootsy, Americana based photographs and fonts. The band has clearly studied up on the format that has such a strong history in the Minneapolis scene. Their CD, while not branching out too far from the beaten path, ends up being successful at what it sent out to accomplish. The songs may be predictable, but they are still written well and performed with great skill by this up and coming local band who have a promising future.
