Two decades into their run, Seattle-based Americana band Massy Ferguson can’t be accused of writing the same album over and over again.
On You Can’t Tell Me I’m Not What I Used To Be, their seventh record, the band that has built a loyal fan base around their ability to deftly walk that line between country and rock, has managed to turn in their most expansive album yet. From the lush sounds of the opening track, “Early In The Morning,” to the twangy guitar and driving bass/drums of “When You’re Not Around,” the record finds the band building on the foundation of their earlier records but not stuck to simply keeping the same sounds.
“So Long, Carry On,” nested in the middle of the album, was the song that the record was built around. The tune came together as the band were prepping for a show in Asbury Park, NJ. “That moment was the genesis of the whole record,” according to frontman, Ethan Anderson. “From there, we started writing songs almost daily, and it felt like we were alive again. Basically, an album came from that one idea we had on tour.” And by coincidence, by design or just picking up on the ghosts of past Asbury Park shows from Jersey’s favorite son, “So Long, Carry On,” echoes some of Springsteen’s early soulful songs.
While the band can still play a solid barroom rocker, the album also boasts some of Massy Ferguson’s quieter moments (“You Were So High” and the sweet “Lovely Lad”). On a track like the “Lights Get Low,” one of the standout moments on the album, the song starts off slow and steady before quickly reaching a boil, punctuated with a brilliant 1980s synth sound. The instrumentation would have been out of place on some of their earlier records but fits nicely here sandwiched between other adventurous gambles that pay off.
“Shrunken Head,” with tubular bells and a beautiful mix of “oohs” backing the more traditional guitars, drums, and bass, elevates what would have been a solid song on its own to one of the band’s finest moments to date. The album closes on the ominous “Angels In Heaven,” again another song that might not have worked on one of their other records but pairs nicely here with the more expansive sound of this album.
