And that's where White Moth differs from its predecessors: there's an authority here that was absent before. While the message of "Land Rights," a haunting folk song written in sympathy with the indigenous population of Australia's fabled Arnhem Land and featuring backing vocals by members of Yothu Yindi, is preachy as hell, there is no doubt about its sincerity. It's a paean to family and friends that works, and the jauntiest thing on the set. "Twist" is a solid reggae number that contemplates one's relationships with one's friends, with Tolley on drums as Rudd plays everything else: slide on an 11-string Weissenborn, his stomp box, and harmonica. "Set It Up," later in the record, is a ghostly blues about the environment, where the same instrumentation is used, but to a much spookier and grainier result. The melody is as catchy as anything by Simon, but without the smarmy New York intellect. The bassline comes from Rudd, playing the bottom strings the way he does live: with more emphasis on the thumbed strings on his fingerpicking hand and mixing them up. "Better People" is a straightforward homage to social and environmental activists, played on a resonator guitar with a stomp box, Dave Tolley's drum kit, and Panos Grames' Hammond B-3. That's not to say the lyrics aren't oh-so-politically correct ( Bruce Cockburn offends more people that Rudd does), because they are, but they're woven into a fabric that is tighter and less concerned with making sure his point is heard than with getting a song across, trusting on some level that meaning is generated in doing so.
Co-produced with Dave Ogilvie (yep, that one: the Skinny Puppy founder, producer, and sideman to David Bowie, Marilyn Manson, NIN, Mötley Crüe, and the Genitorturers must have found his feminine side), this collection is sincere, catchy, and beautifully and organically recorded in British Columbia - it's the recording Rudd has been trying to make since he came in from the waves. On White Moth he comes as close as possible to capturing his own live sound, where the immediacy of the performance quantifies with the clarity of the recording studio. While Paul Simon has clearly influenced him - especially in his vocal delivery - one can hear traces of everyone from Ben Harper to Ziggy Marley and Neil Young in his songs. He's made a career out of ethically correct, socially conscious narratives that have been at times preachy and bordering on trite (but then John Mayer's made a career out of it), though his melodies have been infectious and increasingly sophisticated in the manner in which he blends the various folk musics of Australia, rock, reggae, and blues. His live gigs get bigger and better (he's a true star attraction at Bonnaroo), and he's begun to craft his songs more tightly and purposefully, as evidenced by his U.S. His studio records - which until now have been inferior to his live performances (big surprise there) - have gained him stardom in his native land and a slowly and steadily growing fan base in the United States, primarily among his Generation Y contemporaries. On his initial live offering way back when, the word began to spread. Rudd plays everything from Weissenborn guitars to didgeridoo, djembe, stomp boxes, and various sundry percussion instruments, and he plays them well.
“A lot of that grew out of me giving myself to that country up in the Kimberley and that country gave it back to me… I’d been on a bit of a journey and Spirit Bird represents that.Xavier Rudd, the Australian-born surf bum cum multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, has been a critic's darling since he made his earliest forays onto tape back in 2001 with his Live in Canada offering. He had a powerful experience of imagery and emotion, stating: His album, Spirit Bird, and the title track were created after Xavier’s encounter with a red-tailed black cockatoo in Australia. Much of Xavier’s music incorporates socially conscious themes, such as environmentalism, and is considered to have a spiritual connotation. One of Xavier’s great-grandmothers was an Aboriginal Australian and some of his music speaks to the plight of the Aboriginal people, who still face extreme marginalization today. He also plays several instruments, including the guitar, harmonica, didgeridoo, and banjo, among others. Xavier Rudd is an Australian singer and songwriter. For more information, including tickets and lineup, click here. Catch Xavier Rudd and other inspiring musicians this March at Wanderlust O’ahu.
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