MASSY FERGUSON - YOU CAN'T TELL ME i'M NOT WHAT i USED TO BE

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

January 27, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Here at R&B HQ, we're big fans of Damien Jurado. A couple years ago, the Seattle singer-songwriter formally severed ties with traditional music expectations and outlets, continuing to share new music here and there, and re-recording some earlier records. Like his late friend Richard Swift, Jurado is capable of making great pop music, but has also worked from a longtime attraction to analog and lo-fi systems. Damien Jurado plays by his own rules, and we like that. 

Here at R&B HQ, we're big fans of Massy Ferguson. We have long championed their alt-leaning roots rock, an always-evolving sound that has traded as much in grit as melody. The Seattle quartet have set a February 4 release date for their seventh LP, You Can't Tell Me I'm Not What I Used To Be (North & Left). Massy Ferguson do things their own way, and we like that. 

Never did we consider the respective music of Massy Ferguson and Damien Jurado in the same thought. And yet Jurado serves as producer for the band's new project, a collection that they acknowledge defies some expectations and explores new sounds. Notes frontman Ethan Anderson, We're getting out of the bar. The initial tracks for You Can't Tell Me build on the band's live chemistry, set to tape live, bearing a loose and lived-in sound. While certain of the eleven cuts would sound just right in the bar, others opt for a wider, more spacious approach, not unlike Lucero's 2021 turn to a cinematic mix on When You Found Me. 

Jurado's analog orientation supports Massy Ferguson's intent for a live vibe, while incorporating electric touches, farfisa organ, and atmospherics to the sessions. "When You're Not Around" sounds like an MF cut, featuring prominent Stones-y guitar riffing and a bright farfisa organ. In contrast, "I'm Almost There" is built around a tik-tok drum machine, Ethan Anderson's familiar gruff vocal treated to just a touch of echo: Feelin' bout a million miles away / Holdin' a cigarette / And I'm almost there. The touches are subtle, and typically in service of the songs. 

You Can't Tell Me opens with "So Long Carry On", a gospel-shaded track with a stirring chorus provided by vocalist Zan Fiskum: I am barely just / Holding on / Holding on. A churchly organ sounds below Micah Hulscher's piano, Craig Curran's soulful bass deepening the mix. That newfound soul reappears in the tambourine and handclaps of "Headlights & Highbeams", which also boasts a jangling guitar solo. A song about a sister's drug habit, "You Were So High" experiments with harpsichord and a touch of studio trickery: Big sister, you had all the killer drugs / But you never cared too much for us. 

"Early In the Morning" opens with an acoustic strum before introducing Adam Monda's thick electric tone, storming threateningly. Rounded out with Dave Goedde on drums and Fred Slater on keys, the band's live chemistry is encouraged to shine on Jurado's minimal production. There's an early rock vibe to "Shrunken Head", one of a handful of songs that showcase Massy Ferguson's satisfying grasp of melody. See also the lilting piano and cello number, "Lovely Lad". 

Since their 2008 full length debut, Massy Ferguson have never been reluctant to adjust their sound or to try new things, a dedication which has proven especially rewarding on recent records like Run It Right Into the Wall and Great Divides. Among the collection's most surprising cuts is "Lights Get Low", pairing a piping 80s synth line with an arena quality chorus that recalls mid-period, radio friendly Tom Petty. Listeners eager for a glimpse of Massy Ferguson's country roots will fall for the acoustic picking and good natured dive bar piano of "Seaside Town". The aptly named You Can't Tell Me I'm Not What I Used To Be ultimately remains very much a Massy Ferguson record, even as Anderson and his bandmates are, in their own words, expanding to other rooms outside of the bar. They've earned that right. 

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