Cracker - Berkeley to Bakersfield (2014)
The last time Cracker graced us with their presence was 2009's Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey, in which they proved that not only were they survivors, but also still relevant as it was their hardest rocking album yet. Despite that energy (and a surprisingly damn good set of tunes), the band wasn't at their sardonic best lyrically, largely trading irony for bitterness. Don't get me wrong, Sunrise was one of their better albums and even managed to crack the charts, but it's their lyrical sarcasm and sense of humor that has always given them a distinction among their 90s alt-rock peers. Regardless, Sunrise showed there was still a fire, and they fortunately were able to bottle it for the next five years. But it also seems that the time off was well spent in refection. Interestingly enough, the original lineup regrouped for a few shows. It worked so well that they all decided to record together again, which finally brings us to Berkeley to Bakersfield.
With the original Cracker lineup in place, it would be tempting to assume that the resulting album would be a rehash of their early 90s heyday (with their eponymous debut Cracker (1992) and the subsequent watermark Kerosene Hat (1993)), but amazingly that is not the case at all; in fact, the only thing consistent with that period is the overall quality - it's clear that these guys really gel creatively and are just meant to be together! On the other side of things, neither is this a straight continuation of the punky Sunrise. It's in a way a combination of both, and they do it in an interesting way - remember when I said this was a double album with a twist? Well it is, and the key is in the album's title. Berkeley to Bakersfield: one disk Berkeley, one disk Bakersfield; urban and rural; punk and country! While this may sound like a cheap gimmick, in actual fact the album effectually kills two birds with one stone by presenting the sum of the band by separating the genres that have always been a part of their music. And the music is truly fresh and better for it!
The first disc, "Berkeley," is no doubt the punky one. And for the most part it burns from start to finish. Songs like "March of the Billionaires," "Beautiful," and "Reaction" are fast, quick, and absolutely irresistible. But what's great is that they are hilarious. While the politics is very much in tow (as it was on Sunrise), the tongue is very much in cheek. "El Cerrito" is an amusing take on the Googleization of the Bay Area, while "El Comandante" wears its hilarity on its sleeve with the refrain "it's just a bag of weed." Once again, it's the humor that really sets this apart from its predecessor, but it still rocks. And even if the set closes with a song that sounds suspiciously close to "One Headlight" by their peers The Wallflowers, the band has still delivered - "Waited My Whole Life" is still great though and different enough.
Side two: "Bakersfield," to switch it up, is all country. While Cracker has as always played a bit of alt-country (especially early on), they have never played anything this true to form. Keep in mind, this isn't Nashville style; Cracker could never be that squeaky clean if they tried - this is the rough and tumble country of well... Bakersfield. Obviously, the volume and tempo have largely been turned down, but there are a few quick ones like "The San Bernardino Boy" and "Get On Down The Road" that are just as fun and energetic as their punk counterparts. The real surprise, however, is that when Cracker do eventually lay off the humor for a song or two, then end up with some of their most melodic and touching songs. Both "Almond Grove" and "I'm Sorry Baby" are both incredibly heartbreaking as they are excellent. This is just another reason why this country side is far more than just a gimmick: the band completely sells it by producing some of their best work out of left field.
Of course, the whole point of this outing was to showcase that Cracker is a product of both punk and country, and that they are well versed in both. But what's more is that in separating their music into two different offerings, the band shows a focus that serves them better than on many of their other albums that tended to be somewhat scattershot. It's no surprise then that their earliest successes tended to be more straightforward. Indeed, Cracker is weakest when they put too much into the mix, as they did on albums like the extremely garbled and uneven The Golden Age (1996), or the better but still frustratingly busy Forever (2002). It's this lean effortless approach that makes the band shine, and they have managed to rediscover it almost twenty years down the road from where they left it. I hope they can keep it up, because this is the most enjoyable and just plain fun Cracker release yet!
McS
