Every Which Way

“Born a worm, spins a cocoon, goes to sleep, wakes up a butterfly/oh what the fuck is that about? What the fuck is that about?”

That’s the entire lyrical content of “Born A Worm” by Dan Reeder, one of 20 short nuggets of joy on his fourth album. Dan’s songs are deceptively simple, usually lasting on average about 2 minutes and sometimes using only a handful of phrases to get his point across. But his voice, usually layered upon itself, remains as mournfully beautiful as ever — on top of plaintive piano and guitar. Like his previous three, Every Which Way goes deep into (what I’m calling) Pathetic American Masculinity: songs about guys being dudes and fucking things up. It’s the arrangements, however, that help lodge these songs in your head, the deeper meanings coming through when they damn well want to.