The Magic Lantern - A Reckoning Bell (2021)

There are moments that tear at your soul and Jamie Doe of The Magic Lantern recounts them on A Reckoning Bell. It is, at its heart, one of the most human and humane albums recorded, and Doe recounts some of the most heartbreaking and inspiring moments of life as he watches his father going through the steady decline of Alzheimer’s Disease. This is not a depressing album, although that may be what you’d expect, but it is intensely personal. Doe explains, “Making music has always been a way of working out what I think, but in the midst of this intensely emotional time, it has also been a raft when the ground has given way…”

As a musician, Doe is tough to pin down; he’s performed works of classical composer Frederic Rzewski with a string quartet along with traditional acapella folk songs. There’s no point in attempting to pigeonhole him because he fearlessly seems to do whatever pleases him. As a result, the first song in this collection, “Bound for Glory,” is based on a phrase Woody Guthrie used to entitle his autobiography. According to Guthrie, the phrase is a hobo term for jumping a train with no regard for the destination. It also connects to an existential Shakespearian notion that “all this sound and fury signifies nothing.”

The song itself is equally as eclectic, using musical combinations that seem odd but mix in the most exceptional ways. Doe explains, “The piano riff at the center of ‘Bound for Glory’ has odd bars of 7 and 4 which gives the piece the sense of leaning or tumbling forward.” He continues, “… the song’s two main sections juxtapose our restless search for meaning and each life’s ultimate ending.” Lyrically the song deals with both our human fragility while acting as a testament to our inner strength, “Bound for glory, headed nowhere/ Jump on board, we’re leaving soon/ All this sound and fury signifies nothing/ The heart’s a drum that’s losing time/ We’re heading home/ Home to glory.”

“Blades of Grass” opens with a simple guitar riff and one of the bravest opening lines ever recorded, “Let it be known I cry a lot.” The addition of bass, drums and other instruments begin to swell, synths soar, and a guitar solo that shouldn’t work but does, as saxes add to the mix. It’s a truly fascinating study in colours, bringing them in before quickly resolving to the ending. Equally mesmerizing is “How Simple.” Initially recorded acapella, different players improvise around the vocal melody without ever having heard the contributions of other players. The song works incredibly well, illustrating how an ensemble recording can be created just by arranging and rearranging various options.

There’s more than a bit of Debussy that comes into play on “Holding On.” Beautifully lyrical, yet somehow the fragile piano plays off Doe’s gorgeous voice as he sings, “I don’t deserve you/ I’m holding on with all that I have.” It’s one of those moments that take your breath away in an album that is packed with them.

As The Magic Lantern, Jamie Doe has created a work that will end up on many end-of-the-year lists because A Reckoning Bell is audacious in the ability to create songs that stand out in their capacity to both communicate and transform expectations. Few albums today do both so well.