Additional personnel: Cynthia Dall (vocals, guitar); Jim O'Rourke (cello); Ian O'Hey (chamberlin); Ron Burns, Jason Dezember (drums).

Personnel: Bill Callahan (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Cynthia Dall (vocals, guitar); Jim O'Rourke (cello); Ron Burns (drums).

Building on Julius Caesar's artful songcraft, Wild Love expands Bill Callahan's lyrical and musical horizons, balancing roughness and polish in just the right amounts. Recorded in a proper studio with Drag City's favorite producer, Rian Murphy, the album benefits from a wider musical palette; instead of Julius Caesar's lo-fi patchwork, the sound is focused into a hypnotic blend of chamber music and indie rock. Keyboards, chamberlin, and cello add a theatrical flair to Wild Love's dark, witty portraits of domestic frustration, especially the opening and closing songs, "Bathysphere" and "Goldfish Bowl." The arrangements are key; sometimes they reflect the moody, detailed lyrics. On the frail, flickering ballad "The Candle," Callahan sings, "I'm gathering these splinters to make a raft someday," accompanied by delicate, feeble guitars and keyboards, while "Be Hit"'s awkward drumming and out-of-tune strumming mirror its ugly words: "Every girl I've ever loved has wanted to be hit/And every girl I've ever loved has left me because I wouldn't do it." At other times, the dense orchestrations are ironic; "Sleepy Joe" and "Prince Alone in the Studio" are emotionally detached. As usual, the lyrics are sad, funny, and often cut to the quick. Couplets like "The Candle"'s "I was on her body/He was on her mind/I caressed her/He possessed her" provoke a reaction somewhere between a wince and a grin. On a purely musical level, the album is of Smog's most remarkable achievements, combining studio effects and low-budget innovation. The snare drums and chamberlins on "The Emperor" sound like fireworks over a parade, while the chiming guitars on "It's Rough" add a touch of empathy. A finely wrought, riveting album. ~ Heather Phares

Arguably Bill Callahan's finest work, WILD LOVE is a highly satisfying mix of the Smog mastermind's later, more expansive, keyboard-oriented arrangements and his early, grittier sound. He hadn't yet gone whole-hog into lush production (no children's choir like the one on KNOCK KNOCK), but the moody, orchestral keyboard textures that flesh out the sound mark a major progression from bare-bones lo-fi efforts like JULIUS CAESAR and KICKING A COUPLE AROUND.

As usual, Callahan is unremittingly morose, but his genius is in his ability to transcend his angst via lush, elegant melodies and a strange air of untroubled transcendence. One of the key elements of Smog's work is defined to crystal clarity here--nostalgia for the idyllic, blissfully ignorant childhood Callahan probably never had. His is a vision of darkness tempered by a loner's stark resolution, and WILD LOVE is Callahan's most compelling account of a life on the emotional skids.