Album Review: Mary Gauthier – Dark Enough to See the Stars

So soft it slides through your fingers

Rifles and Rosary Beads, Mary Gauthier’s previous record, was a creative apex of an artist who had mastered their craft. Every note seemed to have a purpose and every song presented a different face to the horrible visage of war. Any follow-up would look dismal in comparison, so her latest album, Dark Enough to See the Stars, does not come close to hitting the same musical and emotional highs. It’s soft, glossy and lacking the clear refinement and thought that went into its predecessor.

It’s unfair to expect her to make another Rifles and Rosary Beads, but Dark Enough to See the Stars could have benefitted from its fragility. It’s Gauthier’s first record where the piano is the dominant instrument, a role previously taken by guitar, if any at instrument all. This isn’t the low-pitched, simmering chords of Rifles and Rosary Beads, but a more glimmering tone that is not played deft enough to work for a prettier atmosphere. Dark Enough to See the Stars feels like it’s being performed by slamming the fingers on the keys rather than gliding across them, and the album cannot decide if the tone should be dramatic or mesmerizing.

Right from the staccato bridge of “Fall Apart World” and thudding opening of “Amsterdam,” the piano drags whole songs down, and the lyrics worthy of a World Travel Guide do not help matters on the former. The title track is almost working with atmospheric flutters of pedal steel, but the piano drunkenly comes in with more weight than is necessary.

That’s not to say that there are not songs with guitars or harmonica like “Truckers or Troubadours” and “About Time,” but whereas these elements created a barren void on Gauthier’s previous albums, they are slightly too high-fi and pristine to land the same punch on Dark Enough to See the Stars.

Cutting out any backing vocals on “Til I See You Again” would have been a bold choice to put all the focus on Mary and end the album on a tightly intimate note, but the instrumentation is not sparse enough to work. A similar problem pops up in the writing. Repeating a line can work wonders for a hook, adding a cry of optima breaking through the bleakness that was reflected in the music. However, that same level of thought can only be found on the track “Where Are You Now” and the highlight of the album, “How Could You Be Gone.”

“How Could You Be Gone” immediately stands out with rougher acoustic guitars as Mary delivers an almost real-time account of preparing for a funeral. Mary’s strained delivery, where getting out the five words of the title takes three breaths, encapsulates the emptiness over losing someone so important to her. Most importantly, the piano is used for support rather than the lead role, especially in the intro. Contrasted with the rest of the album’s pillowy ambiance, the post-chorus and outro of anguished fiddle are an oasis in a desert of soft blandness. The backing vocals are a highlight as well.

The track “Where Are You Now” unfortunately suffers from coming right after “How Could You Be Gone.” It hits a lot of the same emotional beats, but the vocal layering right on top of her own voice captures the song’s smothering nocturnal vibe.

Once the best two songs hit halfway through the record, the rest of the album gets old really fast, as Gauthier’s charisma and husky tone is let out to dry by the blandest folk instrumentation imaginable. It was going to be impossible to follow up Rifles and Rosary Beads, and rude to ask her to make it again, but that does not excuse the mediocrity of Dark Enough to See the Stars.