Tom Ciurczak 2025
Yorick
Between outlanders and outlaws, nothing is as it seems on Californian raconteur’s fourth longplay which focuses on the states of the States but explodes into space.
Though death is never far away, life still should be full of fun: here’s the gist of Tom Ciurczak’s Shakespeare-referencing record whose songs also find time to reflect on existential issues. No, there’s nothing didactic about this album that’s as adventurous as it gets in terms of stories’ twists and turns, and stylistic bends too, and if sometimes Tom’s yarns seem to become a bit parochial, it’s a perfect way to ground the tracks and pinpoint their geography. As a logical result, most of the pieces on offer have a shimmering Americana for a backdrop, with Ciurczak’s ensemble more than ably bolstering his country-tinged vocals, yet quite a few numbers go off on strange tangents to warrant the listener’s unwavering attention.
One doesn’t have to wait until the platter’s finale, where the playful, if poised, “Am I MIA” opens a Miami panorama as refracted through guitar twang and organ purr that carry Tom’s warm voice towards infectious refrain, to get hooked on his tunes; the hefty riffs of the album’s opener “The Watcher” engage the audience even before pop-effervescent chorus and effect-infected six-string solo float into view to balance the aural gambit and introduce aliens to the record’s context. But while the throbbing “Wild One” and “Where Do I Belong” serve up two tasty slices of highway-measuring hard rock and heavenly instrumental harmonies, and the relentless “Malleus Maleficarum” smolders with Hammond to outline the singer’s optimistic views of the future, the titular ballad finds Ciurczak’s mellifluous tones wrapped in acoustic shroud, and the groovy “You’re Next” welcomes everybody to the politically charged dancefloor. So “Chameleon” may sound a little generic in its insistent roll across the prairie, yet “Top Of The Rainbow” is anything but usual in its stride from trumpet-signaled triumph to the equally glorious waltz in which the warbler’s performance and composer’s talent shine brightly.
And when the piano-sprinkled “A.L.T.O.W.D.” – meaning “Another Long Typical Ordinary Working Day” – unfolds his soft, and socially conscious, lyricism, not cherishing Tom Ciurczak’s approach to music feels nigh on impossible. It’s that good.
****2/3
