Album Review: Ginger Wildheart - The Pessimist’s Companion
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
‘Tis very much a shame that The Wildhearts have gone on indefinite hiatus, especially after the quickfire hits of The Renaissance Men and last year’s 21st Century Love Songs. Yet Ginger has never been a man to rest of his laurels and, having appeared in more bands than Nick Barker over the years and having a successful solo career away from the band that bears his name, Mr Wildheart will continue to make music for the foreseeable future.
The Pessimist’s Companion first saw the light of day a couple of years ago but due to external factors the album wasn’t given the love it deserved as looming release dates meant the ten songs were mixed in haste and, although that gave the tunes a rougher edge, in keeping with the album’s subject matter, it wasn’t conducive to the overall sound intended for the record.
Spool forward to 2022 and The Pessimist’s Companion finally gets the CD treatment it’s been waiting for. With five additional songs and a revamped running order it feels like a fresh release rather than a reissue.
Whilst not strictly a concept album, The Pessimist’s Companion does have an introspective theme running through its tracks, the narrator of the piece being a fractured soul, fresh from a break-up, scribbling confessional lyrics onto paper with only a glass for company.
And while that may not sound like the most fun way to spend fifty-two minutes, Ginger’s quirky presentation and lyrical inventiveness means this doesn’t equate to a strictly empathic observation, rather it is getting a second glass and joining the protagonist has he works through his pain.
As a solo artist, Ginger is more able to explore beyond the expectations of The Wildhearts and The Pessimist’s Companion is, for the most part, a heavy acoustic record, filled with folk-pop and alt-rock elements; throw in some country vibes and a bit of skiffle and you could be mistaken into thinking that the record is a mess of ideas. It definitely is not.
The revamped running order means Why Aye (Oh You) now starts proceedings with a jaunty, upbeat folk-feel and positive atmosphere; whereas previous opener, the ominously titled May the Restless Find Peace’s Zeppelin-esque guitar now acts as the climax of the album.
You Will Let Me Down Again begins with some heavy echo, at odds with the positive folk feel of the rest of the song, yet it is able to conjure a tale of dark introspection. Ginger manages these switches with ease across the album. In Reverse begins with a throw-away pop sensibility before giving way to a far grimmer atmosphere; and There is a House uses demanding instrumentation to imbue the song with a bleak aspect.
Don’t be fooled into thinking The Pessimist’s Companion is a slog of depression for, irrespective of its subject matter, there’s lot of rousing moments. The aforementioned Why Aye (Oh You) as well as the countrified I Love You So Much I’m Leaving, the beautifully heavy piano of A Better Love or the country-pop of Sweet Wunderlust all have the capacity to lodge themselves in your head and have you humming them continuously.
The five new songs fit seamlessly onto the record, punctuating the album’s revised running order. No Regrets and Detachment have a full sound that strays at times into Prog territory; I Don’t Wanna Work on this Song No More takes us back into the county territory with a Skiffle sound whereas Stalement swings with lyrical inventiveness. On I Wanna Be Yours, Ginger takes the John Cooper Clarke poem and set it against a steel guitar.
Sitting central to the record at the album’s two longest songs: the title track and Barbed Wire and Roses, both of further explore and unpack ideas found elsewhere on this collection, giving them a full-on treatment.
Ginger Wildheart is a bold creator of music and is never afraid to try something new. His solo output is proof that there is no genre that is not available for exploration and nothing he cannot make his own. The pausing of The Wildhearts is a shame but, as the recent tour demonstrated and this album confirms, Ginger will continue to record and play like the dervish he is. And we should all be thankful for that.
