You get the sense during Shane Lamb’s Disengage CD that recent events of life are too close to the bone, which then causes an instinctual desire to somehow separate from all these encroaching, unhappy circumstances. During this CD’s title track Lamb observes: “You showed up/In full dress and war paint/You did your dance/All I did was hesitate/What else can I do/What else can I do/But disengage.” As the Southwest airlines ad asks, ‘Wanna get away?’
Lamb has said these “songs came out of a period of loss and disillusionment, soul searching, anger, fear, acceptance and the joy of new possibilities.” Yet the sometimes downer nature of these lyrics never drags the music down along with them, turning it all into a drag. The presence of topnotch musicians, including Chris Tuttle’s Hammond organ and Pat Buchanan’s guitar, give it a bright, roots-y rock vibe. Lamb name-drops Tom Petty’s Wildflowers in his biography, although I hear a lot more of Petty’s Southern Accents – albeit without all the Southern guilt. Much like Petty and his cautious optimism, even in the murky darkness Lamb is ever looking for the light. “I try to see the ways that I am blessed,” he offers during “Someday”.
There is also a slight touch of existentialism running through Lamb’s lyrics. When he asks the hard question, “Were you deceived by the ones you were taught to trust?” on “To Get You Through”, it puts into doubt all the assumed rock solid institutions we’ve — up until now — learned to rely upon. Its words make you wonder if Lamb is singing it to somebody that was burned by religion, or worse yet, wronged by a brainwashing cult. Bob Dylan once sang, “If you want somebody to trust/Trust yourself.” And there are times in life when humans must rely solely upon their own innate abilities to survive. However, this cannot be a permanent behavioral change, or else we’ll never learn to love and trust another human again.
There are also moments of sincere sweetness contained on this CD, as well. When Lamb sings, “I just wanted you to know/You were on my mind,” it’s clearly the reflection upon a simple love note. This song is followed by “A While”, which rolls to a gently picked acoustic guitar, and states, “I just want to lay with you for a while.” Although it’s a whole lot smarter than that ‘60s song, which advised, “Love the one you’re with,” it basically says the same thing. The song’s main character doesn’t want this togetherness to stand for anything other than simple companionship. ‘Lord, please don’t read too much into it!’, he seems to be suggesting to his lover.
Country music has inspired some of this music, but this factor is probably more environmental than intentional – a lot of Nashville cats perform on it, after all. But with its overt soul elements, Memphis sounds also come to mind, and Lamb’s pop songwriting furthermore makes one think about classic rock inspirations.
It’s hard not to be encouraged by Lamb’s utter determination to make lemonade out of his crate full of lemons. When he advises, “You follow your dreams like taillights in a storm,” you realize he’s suggesting that dreaming is by no means a passive activity. Instead, you need to stay tailgate-close to your dreams or they’ll get away from you and leave you lost. Such perseverance turns Disengage into a truly engaging effort.
Reviewed By Dan MacIntosh
