Wesley Stace: One Last Heist

With the title of One Last Heist so closely juxtaposed with the album's cover image, the acerbic expression on Wesley Stace's face says it all. Or it might if this were not the same iconoclast who distinguished himself from the likes of Elvis Costello and Graham Parker back in the New Wave/punk heyday of the late Seventies. 

Then known under the assumed name of John Wesley Harding—a wink of the eye even there!—his all-too-often overly clever attitude even permeated his album consisting of cover material. Greatest Other People's Hits (Omnivore Recordings, 2018).

Accordingly, even as the man reverts to his given moniker of Wesley Stace, it is difficult to take him at his defensive word on the title song. Of course, the highly infectious nature of that opener and "Penelope" belies the distance he may or may not be placing between himself and his audience.

Varied arrangements including horns and multiple keyboards played by David Nagler, Stace's co-writer of all eleven tunes here, only underscore the generally healthy detachment the latter maintains on selections such as"A Funny One." 

And with the violins and cello of The Bergamot Quartet played off against the artist's harmonica there, his self-deprecating pose seems like nothing so much as camouflage for the abject dismissal of the song's subject. Intricate rhyme schemes within "Hanging Up The Sickle" convey the same undercurrent of duplicity.

Such continuity is readily discernible because the musicians, anchored by the main rhythm section of bassist Eddie Carlson and drummer Stéphane San Juan, proceed with authority throughout the Latin sway of that number. And then there's the similarity between Stace's voice and Declan McManus, nee the aforementioned Costello: the crucial difference in the former's more straightforward phrasing is not all that apparent, even upon close (as opposed to cursory) listening.

Pre-release publicity highlighting an organ-centric style for One Last Heist really does not manifest itself until half-way through the near-47 minutes. The self-referential "Get It In Your Fingers" is nonetheless the ideal entry point for prominence of that particular instrument, even if the sonic shift is transitory.

As recorded and mixed by Peter Rydberg at Studio 1935, then mastered by Chris Van Sneidern, more orchestration on "In Our Own Time" gives way to the ultra- smooth Philly soul overtones of "I Say Lots Of Things." This is track sequencing that mirrors Stace's deceptively frank exposition of his autobiographical (?) lyrics.

If the emotional quotient of these songs and performances is often suspect, the clarity of the sonics remains consistent throughout. And while the apparent contradiction of those attributes may be too much for potential listeners apart from long-standing fans of this highly (overly?) cerebral artist, from a healthily detached perspective, it is nonetheless a winning combination.

But then comes "Thoughts And Prayers," a discerning set of observations aimed at far more two-faced figures than Wesley Stace. Hearing his British accent as it echoes through such straightforward singing infuses the track with substance a more out-there take would undercut. Leave it to this split-personality to render the closing "Dead Horse" the most forthright number here, not to mention the catchiest. 

It is enough to compel playing One Last Heist all over again to make sure it all really sounded like it seemed.