Strength and Renewal
Francis said in a recent interview that, in his mind, the themes of this album are strength and renewal. Both come across quite strongly on every single song."Shooting Star and the Ambulance" (purchase/download) is a good example, as the song just builds and builds, showing Francis' more rocky side. Verging on the predictable, the tune asks questions like "Am I passenger, or am I pilot in this life?" But, before the lyric takes the song to a place overwrought with cliche, his chorus dances in: "I'm rolling, I'm going, I'm taking all that I need."
Another song that encapsulates Francis' themes of strength and renewal is "Case of Bad Love" (purchase/download). Here, he sings about a relationship gone sour, and all the opportunities it gives one to grow. "I need some real time to love," he sings over the swelling of the mandolin trills, as they give way to a lap steel.
Longing and Reclamation
Perhaps the strongest song on the disc, though, is the title track (purchase/download), which calls to mind Bob Dylan's early folk-rock days, when his long poetic narratives were starting to blend with the evolving face of roots music. You can just feel the desparate longing when Francis sings, "Wait, wait, wait, I'm more than me / I'm the iron sea and the calvary."Throughout the disc, Francis seems to be really searching for answers and direction. These are the kind of songs that come from a major life change, as one hopes for redemption and better times ahead. On "Stoaway," he sings: "Time moves so fast, you never knew you could get off of that track."
The whole album seems to be leading up to the final song, "Heavenly Boat" (purchase/download), which easily rolls off as the sharpest, most memorable song on the disc. In the third person, Francis sings the story of a "restless nomad [who] waits for no man," heading off toward better days. This tune, like so much of the album, comes across as part prayer, part reclamation song. In other words, it's a song of strength and renewal.
