Album Review: Franz Nicolay - Luck And Courage

'Luck And Courage' is the second full length album from New York State-based Instrumentalist, Franz Nicolay. Outside of his work for the Hold Steady, his solo work and other projects have received little press, and so 'Luck And Courage' is somewhat unchartered territory for most listeners. Taking it’s queues from Americana, alt-country and folk music (with the odd nod to showtunes!), there is the basis within 'Luck And Courage' for wide-ranging appeal.

The album starts off in unspectacular fashion however with the tepid 'Felix & Adelita'. The track’s focus is on Nicolay’s strange but powerful voice and has minimalist instrumentation, something that is apparent on a few of the other tracks on the album. Lyrically, Franz Nicolay draws on the folk tradition of story-telling, though the story is not always blatantly obvious. The track is “nice”, but it isn’t particularly interesting, something which is unfortunately true of all the slower numbers on the album. 'This Is Not A Pipe' , with it’s Bluegrass-esque picked banjo, and 'Job 35:10', with it’s summer evening vibe, suffer from a similar fate to the opening number. The only slow tempo number that doesn’t fall into this trap is 'Z Is For Zacariah' , which sees the strong-but-odd voice of Nicolay complimented beautifully by the haunting vocals of Emily Hope Price. This small-scale addition instantly makes the track more memorable, and provides a new level to a sound that is tired from previous outings.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that the best tracks on this multi-instrumentalist’s album, are the ones with fuller instrumentation. Tracks such as 'My Criminal Uncle' and 'James Ensor Redeemed', seem to owe as much to Broadway as they do the Americana stylings of The Hold Steady. 'My Criminal Uncle' sounds like the love child of Panic At The Disco and The Gaslight Anthem, whilst 'James Ensor Redeemed' has so much showtune about it, that you could almost picture the scene being played out before you. When Nicolay increases the instrumentation, he increases the emotion, and thankfully it doesn’t always come out like a stage show. 'Have Mercy' is cinematic. Cinematic in the way Springsteen was on Nebraska. It isn’t as stripped back as that, but the way the cymbals crash create images of stormy nights in the mid-west. You feel as though Nicolay is singing about something you knew on a personal level.

Though nods to Cohen ('The Last Works Of Gene Autry') and attempts at 60’s inspired pop (the shalalas on 'Anchorage(New Moon Baby)') impress, it is left to closing track 'Luck And Courage' for the album’s only real ‘wow’ moment. It’s fully instrumented and moves from moments of Gaslight Anthem Americana to moments of complete leftfield weirdness (the track breaks down into a rippingly fast banjo spiel halfway through!). It plays out at just over five minutes long, but is by far the most endearing track on the album.

'Luck And Courage' is an odd album; it has a deeply rooted American sound, yet flirts with gypsy tradition; it is wholly original, yet you can sense where the influences are; but most of all whilst it underwhelms, it does have moments of endearing brilliance. 'Luck And Courage' may just be what you need in your life, but most will get by without it.

3/5

'Luck and Courage' by Franz Nicolay is avalable now through Team Science/Sabot.

Franz Nicolay on MySpace

Dan Issitt