Bill Santen is best known for heading up the revolving door alt-country/sometimes-psychedelic band Birddog. With a list of contributors like Elliott Smith and Glenn Kotche and a reputation for strong, subtle song craft, they earned a modest following. With any luck, those followers will discover Santen's new solo project.
When Santen says solo project, he means solo project. Only In the Night Kitchen's final song, "Cincinnati Sings", features musicians other than Santen -- and even then, only two. The remaining songs are simple, subtle, sparse alt-country, usually featuring nothing more than an acoustic guitar, a little gentle percussion and Santen's voice -- perhaps with a few (usually) undetectable vocal overdubs. Subtlety is the name of the game here.
"Hustler" pushes the point a little too hard. Repeating the same phrases over and over again against a relentlessly traditional country melody, it gives the impression of an artist about to run into a wall. This may be somewhat intentional, though; after you've had your expectations adjusted by such a traditional song, you'll be very well equipped to appreciate the subtle majesty of "Captain Blood and Saint September". The basic elements from the first ditty are all here: traditional country tune, repetitive lyrics, and Santen's (thankfully twang-free) delicate croon. However, there's a markedly different feeling in this one. The song follows an almost subliminal dramatic arc, mostly represented in its nearly inaudible use of overdubs. The cumulative effect crackles with subdued intensity. This is where it becomes clear which adjective describes Santen's music best. It is, quite simply, sublime.
As you progress through In the Night Kitchen, you'll find yourself slowly turning the volume up, inching closer and closer to the speakers. Santen's dark tales of ruined lives and loves have the same subtlety as his excellent performance -- they require your full attention at all times. By the time you get to "Gold Watch Blues", you'll have turned the volume up as high as possible. This is good. It's an excellent song. You'll want to hear all of it. You'll want to catch the quiet, southern-fried electric guitar as it plays peek-a-boo in the background, obviously resenting the way the acoustic guitar so effortlessly dominates it.
If you've allowed yourself adjust properly to Santen's musical world, the weight added by Phillip Farmer's lead guitar and Jessica Kepler's viola in closer "Cincinnati Sings" will be almost unbearable. The spare flourishes are still unusually quiet for the average band, but in this context they represent layers of emotional baggage we are not ready for. It hurts so good.
Strangely, Santen's press materials insist that In the Night Kitchen is an EP -- which, given its miserly eight tracks and scant 24 minutes of playing time, is true. Still, it feels like an LP, and it's easily worth LP money.
