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Bill Callahan has always been deemed the only worthy successor to Leonard Cohen. He might be getting tired of this reputation, although he probably can’t get too upset about it. After all, there are many worse things to be compared to. Reality only serves to support this comparison. With his low, gravelly voice, acoustic guitar and enchanting female backing vocals, Bill Callahan is more than ever the worthy, unique and indispensable successor of Leonard Cohen. Reality is his twentieth album in about as many years and is a continuation of the 'marital and family happiness' cycle that began three years ago with the album Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest and continued in 2020 with Gold Record.

Once known for his more neurotic, wandering vocal style, Callahan has now turned his hand to quieter, more settled records. His style is still there (with songs that still sound hypnotic and metronomic), but Reality is set apart by the appearance of a few horns, a piano, and a looser, more instinctive method of collective playing, which sometimes even flirts with jazz or the free-forms of 1970s folk-rock. Devoid of monotony, his songs are like peaceful, epic ballads, ever reaching towards the light. The suffering induced by the double whammy of Trump and the Covid-19 pandemic pushed Callahan to create a record which would provide a safe haven for his listeners. That mission has been accomplished on a good half of the album, particularly on the track ’Natural Information’ which has a beautiful classic soul-folk flavour. © Stéphane Deschamps/Qobuz