Nostalgia ain’t what it used do be, according to the old reflection, and if you agree then I may have some good news. May 16th is  release day for Jeff Lang’s 15th studio album, which means you should put aside an hour to grab a glass of what used to be your favourite tipple, put on something desperately out-of-fashion, turn down the lights and tune yourself into another fine set of tales from the unassuming storyteller whom I also consider to be Australia’s finest exponent of slide guitar.

I Live In My Head A Lot These Days delivers eleven typically Lang productions, and whilst there’s no Big Feeling likely to garner a  massive rate of radio spins, there are plenty of moments that will feel like seeing an old friend when you pull the CD out in later  years. Titles include People Will Break Your Heart, This City’s Not Your Hometown Anymore, My Darling Girl Don’t Change and The Promise Of New Year’s Eve, and as with previous releases there is enough variety in themes explored to make you return to the CD in the future.

The album makes a jaunty start with a sea shanty, albeit a cowboy slide guitar sea shanty, relating the victim’s tale of a backstreet  mugging. Watch Me Go is quite stripped back instrumentally and just over two minutes long. It’s a great little opener, and sets up a  rollicking vibe… which lets track two crash through with contrasting, broody Waits-esque minimalism.

It’s perilous territory, choosing a track two: the less risky approach is to build on track one, which can be glorious (Even Flow following Once) but after you’re familiar with the album or playlist, more often pushes the song into the background. Whilst flirting with derailing the album flow, the right contrast will ensure the track will stand on its own during future listening.

Fortunately Petra Goes To The Movies falls into the latter category, even more so as the gritty noir opening, so appropriate to the tale  of escapist widow Petra, suddenly gives way to an unexpectedly melodic two-part bridge. I love a bleak story with an incongruous delivery, and with the variation shown in the delivery vehicle, I have to say it’s a risk that’s paid off.

Production on the release is smooth without being polished; it was approached in a very creative way using a unorthodox but traditional  technique. In an upcoming interview with the artist himself, Todd Macalpine deals with this technique in more detail, but I’ll throw out  the challenge to guess what recording equipment was used just by listening to the album!

Returning to the songs themselves: other dark narrative territory explored includes well-natured vigilantism in Gunshot Nights (which  echoes a little the angst of my favourite Lang release, Rejected Novelist Fails Again,) and relationship breakdown hostility in a couple  of tracks. The overriding theme of better times, though, is perhaps delivered best in This City’s Not Your Hometown Anymore. To me it’s  the most immediately recognisable Lang song, with well crafted lyrics, instrumentation taking a backseat until called into focus, and  balanced but not overwhelming harmonies, all in a perfectly rounded song structure.

I’ll leave it to you to discover your favourite moments on I Live In My Head A Lot These Days, but would be remiss not to mention the closing track. The Promise Of New Year’s Eve is a beautifully written, Eagles style waltz which is sure to resonate especially if that  initial taste of way-back-when has led to another glass or two. And maybe, for six minutes at least, nostalgia will be back. Maybe not  exactly what it used to be, but close.