Being a singer-songwriter in this day and age can be difficult. Almost anyone can pick up an acoustic guitar and write a simple song, although it’s hard not to fall into a trap of being too twee with it or running the risk making music that is only fit for the soundtrack to whatever the latest Farrelly brother’s movie is. For Seattle troubadour Rocky Votolato though, none of the above applies to his work, and he has been plying his trade with honesty and integrity for 15 years now.
Recently signing to the esteemed No Sleep Records, he teamed up with former Death Cab For Cutie guitarist Chris Walla to handle production duties on his eighth solo album ‘Hospital Handshakes’. Considering that in the wake of his 2012 album ‘Television Of Saints’ Votolato nearly hung up his guitar for good, and didn’t write any new music for an extended period of time. Thankfully he found his creative spirit once again, and has poured his soul into ‘Hospital Handshakes’.
From the opening bars of ‘Boxcutter’, it is like being greeted by an old friend when Votolato starts to sing. His warm and familiar vocal is riddled with emotion in every syllable he utters over the top of more up-tempo rhythms than usually found on a Rocky Votolato album. The pace is picked up even more on the glorious ‘The Hereafter’, which bares a resemblance to Votolato’s pre-solo career as part of the highly influential indie-rock band Waxwing.
There are shades of Americana on ‘White Knuckles’ and ‘Rumi’, where his weary voice quivers to near breaking point at times, and as ‘Hospital Handshakes’ begins to unfold, the application of a more rounded and full band sound has given Votolato the rejuvenation he needed.
Those familiar with Rocky Votolato’s career will know that he comes from punk rock stock, and you may even have seen him acting in the now legendary movie ‘The Edge Of Quarrel’ alongside members of The Murder City Devil’s and Botch. He has been a key figure of the Seattle punk scene. This influence shines through on ‘A New Son’, which is knitted together with by almost punk rock style composition.
However, he is at his best when his music is stripped down to the bare bones of just his guitar and his vocal. ‘Sawdust and Shavings’ carry’s on the tradition of roots based folk music, and could have been an outtake from Bruce Springsteen’s 1982 album ‘Nebraska’. The closing track ‘The Finish Line’ finds Votolato at his most fragile and revealing. He softly croons, “It’s a terrible thing to be afraid all the time” between the harmonica melodies that bed out the simple acoustic strumming.
With Rocky Votolato finding it in him to write music again, it has resulted in this record being one of his finest to date. His song writing has matured vastly over the years and he has become a master of his craft. There are so many singer-songwriters out there now whom each bringing their own brand of storytelling to the table, but with ‘Hospital Handshakes’ Rocky Votolato has proved how unique and relevant he still is.
GLEN BUSHELL