CHRISTOPHER PAUL STELLING : LABOR AGAINST WASTE

CHRISTOPHER PAUL STELLING : LABOR AGAINST WASTE

Warm Enemy
Revenge
Scarecrow
Castle
Horse
Death Of Influence
Dear Beast
Hard Work
Burial Shroud
Too Far North

Label : Anti

Release Date : 2015

Length : 40:39

Review (AllMusic) : The sophomore long-player and Anti debut from Brooklyn-based, Florida-bred singer/songwriter Christopher Paul Stelling, Labor Against Waste draws from a wide spectrum of American roots music, from backwoods gospel and blues to bucolic folk and road trip-ready country. A dazzling finger-picker to boot, Stelling cites influences such as John Fahey, Van Morrison, Mississippi John Hurt, Waylon Jennings, Bob Dylan, Roscoe Holcomb, and Skip James, but there's a real Van Morrison/Damien Rice vibe at work here as well, especially on some of the album's less ardent cuts like "Scarecrow" and "Too Far North." Stelling sings and writes with the conviction and sincerity of a road-tested troubadour, and he's at his best and most fevered when the pace goes from a trot to a full-on gallop. There's a nervy energy that runs through the album that belies its more or less spartan arrangements and string band setup. Despite keeping the proceedings completely acoustic, Stelling manages to achieve rock-level decibels on stand-out cuts like the bustling "Hard Work," the rowdy, Led Zeppelin III-inspired "Horse," and the spirited opener "Warm Enemy," the latter of which features enough six-string fireworks to, at the very least, earn the still young virtuoso a temporary seat at the table with the likes of Fahey and company.

Review (Folk Radio) : Christopher Paul Stelling's third album comes steeped in the traditions of American roots music, located somewhere in the wilds of the mythical American frontier. With arrangements based predominantly around Stelling's intricate fingerpicking on a battered old Gibson acoustic, there are scatterings of folk, country, blues and blue-grass. Delicate touches of strings, brass and harmonica add atmosphere and depth to otherwise simple arrangements. However, that is not to say Labor Against Waste is a sparse sounding album. Stelling easily fills out the sound without these flourishes. With a gravelly, earnest voice and bright cascades of fingerpicking guitar, Stelling carries real presence. A relentless touring musician, life on the road plays an inevitable role in Stelling's lyrics. Whether it's "lost, set adrift on a red clay, unmarked road" in Scarecrow, "stranded on a dusty lonesome desert highway" in Revenge or trying to "get across the great divide" in Horse, the 'American West' provides a backdrop for songs about life lessons, morality and the pressures of modern life. Many of the tracks on the album express a strong sense of optimism in the face of hardship. Hard Work, in particular, carries the mantra: "I just work real hard try not to complain [.] and I know my work is never done till I can see the good in everyone." However, the despair threatens to overwhelm this positivity on Death of Influence. Starting like the opening credits of a Spaghetti Western, it slips into a murderous and apocalyptic warning against immorality. The language evokes images of the biblical destruction and the closing refrain feels like it owes a debt to Masters of War: "I've seen the eyes of Satan in the powerful elite, seen the eyes of compassion in the ones who killed in wars, [.] seen the eyes of liberty in a bible torn and burned." There is the impression that these tracks reflect the internal spiritual battle Stelling himself is waging. Horse could easily be a cut from Bob Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home. A foot-stomping blues which strays into bluegrass territory, it is one of the album's highlights. With lines like: "I dragged that horse to water, you know he wouldn't drink, I shot him in the shallows before I had the time to think" and "my baby got the devil in him, oh he got the good Lord in him too" - it is an absurdist parable that wouldn't feel out of place in Oh Brother Where Art Thou. The dry wit and one-liners recall Subterranean Homesick Blues or Folsom Prison Blues. "My daddy always told me not to play around with matches, got me ahold of a flame thrower, how that fire catches." The opening line of opening track Warm Enemy, "time don't mean nothing if you waste it", is a refrain that is repeated throughout. Labor Against Waste is an album that rallies against losing sight of what's important in life amidst the distractions of careers, mortgages and pensions. The aforementioned 'warm enemy' appears to represent the strangulating comfort and conformity Stelling rebels against. Castle is a dissection of the ways in which the conventions of modern society have become a metaphorical prison, trapping us all within a constructed illusion of normality. Hiding behind these castle walls we have stopped enjoying simple pleasures, appreciating what little we have and making the most of the present - stopped living. "May there be no remorse here for the patience that you have shown save the satisfaction of knowing your house is made of stone, but who're you going and kidding yourself man, you ain't got no house at all." Stelling urges us to instead "sleep under the sky tonight well beyond these castle walls." Too Far North is a lament for a friend tied too firmly to life on the road to adjust to normal life, with sadly fatal consequences. It's a beautiful song, and the line, "it's better to die with a spark in your eye than a weak dying breath and a groan," is another poignant representation of a continuous thread that runs throughout the album. Labor Against Waste unquestionably wears its influences plainly on its sleeve. Whilst there's nothing wholly original about Stelling's style, the lyrics are complex and thought-provoking and Stelling is a truly exceptional guitarist. Although he isn't necessarily exploring any new territory, Stelling is successful in updating American roots traditions and capturing the present zeitgeist. As he urges us to, "breathe it out, lay your burdens down to rest", it's hard not to pay attention.

Review (Paste Magazine) : Christopher Paul Stelling is no stranger to labor. For several years now, the Brooklyn-based songwriter has spent his time touring relentlessly, stomping on stages all over the country and overseas. Through these performances and his earlier releases, 2012's Songs of Praise and Scorn and 2013's False Cities, Stelling created a groundswell thanks to his vigorous vocal style and the head-spinning wizardry he displays each time his hands touch a guitar. Now, he's making his debut on the Anti- label with the release of Labor Against Waste, which, as its title suggests, is the songsmith's most masterfully crafted effort to date. Pulsating opener "Warm Enemy" bursts with the brightness of a sunrise as Stelling greets the day with wide-awake fingerpicking and spirited stomps and claps. He sings, "Time don't mean nothin' if you waste it," which could probably serve as a substitute for caffeine if regularly repeated in a morning routine. "Revenge" picks up right where "Warm Enemy" leaves off, offering grass-is-greener optimism accompanied by bluegrass instrumentation with the recurring lyric "Ain't no sweetness in revenge." Stelling takes a moment for introspection on "Scarecrow," only allowing for brief interjections of drums, harmonica and horns. Undoubtedly, this album will bring many first-time listeners to Christopher Paul Stelling, many of whom may draw default comparisons to other singer/songwriter types, perhaps based on little more than the aesthetic of six strings and a voice. However, Stelling seems to welcome the idea of standing stark, prime to be picked apart as he likens himself to the scarecrow whose "arms are spread out wide like he was measuring the fields." Halfway through Labor Against Waste, it becomes extremely evident how seamlessly Stelling can shift gears. Despite his mischievous quip, "My daddy always told me not to play with matches," middle track "Horse" is a thoroughbred barnburner. The strum of a rogue stallion guitar pulls a bandwagon of rapid classic country sounds highlighted by fiddles so frantic they might make the devil forget that time he went down to Georgia. By the time "Death of Influence" begins, the sun that shone at the start of the album has long since gone down. As the song ominously swells like a storm cloud, Stelling sings about seeing the eyes of Jesus, Satan, liberty and injustice all while ambient sounds creep in and out of the sonic periphery. Still, in "Hard Work," Stelling proves he can't be overcome by the darkness. Even though he's "seen some things that will twist your spine," he repeatedly preaches, "I know my work is never done 'til I can see the good in everyone." Filtering out instinctive cynicism truly can be the hardest work done in a day. Rather than resting himself in final track "Too Far North," Stelling instead pays homage to someone recently laid to rest. The composition of his chords is almost reminiscent of classical pieces like Pachelbel's Canon in D, perfectly demonstrating the musical masterminding at work. For reasons that may be more obvious at this point than he realizes, Stelling sings, "Unlike the rest, I will remember you best for that restlessness that filled up your bones." An appreciation of restlessness is no surprise coming from an artist who utilizes that trait so well. In its mere 40-minute duration, Labor Against Waste somehow encapsulates what feels like a full 24 hours. Unlike some days that tend to just breeze by, though, this is one without repose. It's full of purpose and unyielding passion, manifesting in a tireless labor of love that refuses to waste a single second on distractions. This, seemingly, is all in a day's work for Christopher Paul Stelling.