As he sings on the track “Black Bitter Moon” that the title Come Hell or High Water comes from after the flood “comes the rain and the dread”. He may find some solace in religion, but he mostly doesn’t sound happy. On “It Is What It Is” Holcombe sings and proclaims faith in something bigger than the self. Holcombe celebrates old-fashioned values of family and love. It’s another thing to lead a marginal existence. It’s one thing to be a marginal member of society. He doesn’t want to be an invisible member of humanity and just disappear in the crowd or die alone away from home. His deeper concern is about losing himself. Holcombe rants and raves about the state of the world (“I see pictures ev’ry day and the headline news / I cuss and pray at the world and the blues”). And there is something magical about his artistry.
However, he also has a soft soul and an empathetic sensibility. He has a coarse persona that has been made grotesque by modern life. Holcombe sings and plays guitar like a carpenter with a hammer that never met a nail. His style may harken back to primeval times. But I’ve realized, and have always known, that it really doesn’t matter. I’ve seen him perform live since then, listened to the music he’s created since, and I’m still not sure. I wasn’t sure if he was authentically primitive and gruff or just putting on an act. I first wrote about Malcolm Holcombe’s music for PopMatters ten years ago.
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