My Cultural Highlights: OLDER WISER HARDER

In art, 'mature' is not the greatest of epithets. Oftentimes, it just means boring. Once in a while, however, I do stumble upon a mature-sounding record which nonetheless has all the joy and inventiveness that make me listen to music in the first place. What I mean to say is, you do not have to cut off your ear to create an Impressionist painting. 

Older Wiser Harder is a recent discovery, a collaboration between Richard Earls and Thierry Audousset. The resulting album is, regrettably, very little known, but then it does not strive for popularity. All it is concerned with is creating great music that is supposed to contain the experience of the artists involved. That it succeeds is a testament to the dedication of Richard and Thierry, and the amount of craft and skill that was invested in making this expansive, diverse collection of music.  

The songs are mostly excellent. The absolute highlight is the endlessly intriguing, beautifully arranged "Before That Long Hot Summer" that manages to be both uplifting and properly depressing. Late-period Monochrome Set could be a decent, if rather loose, reference point. I also love the playful, music-hallish "Youth And Beauty", the strings-infused "From The Minute I Met You" with its soaring chorus, the piano-based "The Long Goodbye" that sounds like a long-lost Tom Waits classic, the terrific acoustic closer that bows out with a fitting, if ironic, lyrical message. 

If there is anything wrong with Older Wiser Harder (other than the straight-faced "Perfect Dream" that badly needs some edge), it is that it sometimes lacks a rougher approach that would have benefitted its great songwriting. It is as if the whole thing is too professional, the musicianship too immaculate. Occasionally, you want some distortion where maturity steps in... Which is why I like it how "Walking To My Girlfriend's House" comes right in the middle of the whole thing.

The album unfurls like a well-written book, like a life well told. I could almost call it a concept album confronting the past head-on, with all its troubles and regrets. But then equally, when you are listening to Older Wiser Harder (and I have been doing this over the last few weeks), you get the impression of the artists' joy of recording these songs (in rural France, no less). Which, in the end, may be the reason why I have been returning to it again and again.