Do The Struggle

I haven’t been able to put my fingers on documentation, but I’m pretty sure Franz Nicolay is the flamboyant, younger brother of the Mountain Goats’ CEO John Darnielle. Both are notable for their erudite rhymes and narrative vocal style, generally told from a reflective distance as opposed to emotional, knee-deep-in-it confessional. But Darnielle has always preferred understatement (until baroque pretensions took over his latest, Transcendental Youth).  Conversely, Nicolay’s played in such dramatic/anthemic outfits as the Hold Steady, Against Me! and World/Inferno Friendship Society, echoing their sound in his swooning, epic, widescreen aesthetic. If you squint just right, you can see the proscenium arch framing every number. Indeed, the 10 songs on Do The Struggle are separated by nine interludes under a minute long, as if awaiting a set-change, amplifying the album’s stagey vibe.

This is more observation than complaint: While Nicolay’s reach may not extend as far as his vision, his ambitions are enviable. If overall, Do The Struggle offers a mixed bag, it’s nonetheless a very intriguing one whose dense layers reveal themselves like a flower’s bloom.

A lot of credit goes to producer Oktopus, the man behind the grim industrial tones dressing experimental hip-hop act, Dälek. He applies similar production strategies to Nicolay’s music: The Americana and baroque elements are dulled and treated, recasting their trebly natures in a boomy, club/dance production style. It’s a fairly subtle effect, but it effectively moves these very familiar elements to the left, overriding their present-day ubiquity. Nicolay’s vocals are very mannered, sort of Morrissey with a pinched theatrical tenor, yet they seem appropriate. Particularly on tracks like “Did Your Broken Heart Make You Who You Are,” whose odd lyrical conceit of record-borne heartbreak culminates in a melodramatic couplet worthy of Moz: “Cruelty is a virus, I know, it’s in my blood too/You think you know someone, but you never know what they will do.”

Thematically, Do The Struggle is about taking chances. This idea is keenly captured on the bluegrass-flavored “You Don’t Know I’m Here,” which ponders the proper level of engagement to take with the world. The music’s pretty diverse from his clamorous punk-pop ode to the working-class Leatherface frontman, “Frankie Stubbs’ Tears” to the raw roots noir of “Live Free” and the ringing Celtic-rock opener, “Hearts Of Boston” (which warns, “Never trust a man without a horror story”). However, the high-drama of Nicolay’s vocal style, the bass-heavy production and typically up-tempo pulse conspire to wear on the listener, stealing momentum from a strong first half. (It’s hard to say if the instrumental interludes help or hinder the album’s theatrical charge.)

If you don’t mind the pomp and the overdriven bottom-end, there’s plenty to savor about Nicolay’s third album—even the middling songs are about something. Everything overflows with passionate energy, particularly the well-realized six-minute title track featuring political provocateurs hanging from the Eiffel Tower, while offering a whirlwind travelogue reminiscent of “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” The song’s final line encapsulates Do the Struggle: “It’s an eloquent suggestion, an elegant protest, and it’s a mess.” While not quite a mess, Nicolay might learn to better modulate his albums so they don’t feel so demanding. Still, it’s a very interesting effort whose challenges may be less apparent to those who live for the drama.

Xtra Mile Recordings http://www.xtramilerecordings.com/

“You Don’t Know I’m Here”