POKEY LAFARGE
His Foot Stomping, Revivalist Music
When Pokey LaFarge wrote the music for his latest record, Rock Bottom Rhapsody, he hadn’t yet hit rock bottom. A very private person, he’s only alluded to what happened in the tough two years between his move to LA and the recording of the new album, but the specifics aren’t important. The loneliness and desperation that Pokey speaks of on songs like Fuck Me Up are universal, whether you’ve hit rock bottom yourself or things seem to be getting dimmer each day.
Pokey’s old-timey crooning over 20s, 30s country-folk guitar masks his melancholy. Still, his glum, self-deprecating lyrics speak to an artist who’s figured out how to reconfigure his dark moments and disappointments into and genre songs from another era. Familiar tropes from Pokey’s previous albums worm their way into the mix — he dances with a femme fatale-type on two tracks here, “Bluebird” and later “Fallen Angel.”
In the former, the good ole Midwestern boy persona that Pokey’s fashioned for himself speaks of a girl who broke his heart, consequently giving him the gift of an experience and a song about that experience. Meanwhile, “Fallen Angel” tells a more hopeful post-split story: that same charming young man runs into a former lover who failed to bring him down and relishes her seeing him at his best.
So, is Rock Bottom Rhapsody Pokey LaFarge at his best? He certainly grapples with more mature themes on this record. End of My Rope opens, “Growing up was easy, for some, but not me / And getting older is the same old story.” Now 36, Pokey, born Andrew Heissler, has been making music since he self-released his debut album Marmalade in 2006. What’s happened in 14 years and eight albums? Basically, Pokey blew up. He’s performed on late-night talk shows. He’s worked with powerhouse rock musicians like Jack White.
And, of course, he moved to LA and felt the city’s disillusionment wash over him. Now, having clawed his way back up from rock bottom, the out-of-time everyman is at the top of his game. On the track Lucky Sometimes, Pokey muses, “I’ve never been a hero / I can’t pretend to have a plan / No, I just want to be a regular guy / Does that mean I could be your man?” You certainly have our heart, Pokey.
