California - Black Dime

Black Dime is California's twelfth studio album, released in 2022. It was the last release recorded for the project before its dissolution in January of that year, practically immediately after the album's release. In addition, it was the final original studio album released for California's initial run. Spanning from September 2020 through December 2021, it took the longest time out of any of their albums to record, with a month on average between the recording of each song. Recording began after the Playtime sessions in August 2020, when Alexandre Banks got ahold of a baritone, nylon-strung classical guitar (which would play a key role in the album's early tracks) but, in transitioning from The Partnership Glove EP to this album, it was seen as the end of an era for the project, Black Dime marking the beginning of its final one. Although they successfully avoided the pitfalls of Welcome To The Rotunda, the initial burnout which preceded that album eventually sunk back in, indicating the time for a final paradigm shift. This came in the form of Black Dime, which deliberately approached California's songwriting process with a much more serious agenda laid out, and with the aim of making one more truly meaningful release before the project was no longer feasible. Chivalry and Any Able Manning use the aforementioned guitar to create a dark yet gentle medieval-influenced atmosphere, the latter turning more towards rhythm as the main force. The longest track on the album, New-Fashioned Machine, is sometimes considered California's heaviest song, but it also draws influence from the aesthetics of early 70s singer-songwriter material, all while retaining the driving and propulsive rhythm of earlier works. This song and those immediately following it are characterized by a return of the classic Tokai AST '62 model Stratocaster used on other releases, but unique for the fact that it was restrung with flat-wound strings for this album. Grandmother's Pie, often cited as one of their best works, was recorded a few months later; the next several tracks over Summer 2021, until TAI (As Something New) presented a new direction in the album by its use of a lap steel guitar, and the last three tracks, recorded in the final days of that year, brought it to a close. Its songs are on average over 10 minutes, drawing out the method of previous albums to achieve a much more subtle approach whereby specific elements like the guitar solo were greatly refined, an evolution that can be heard while going through its track list. Themes include emotional weight, hope, personal relationships and other concerns of the artist during its creation. It also produced so many out-takes that several of them were released separately on The Final Resistors' Union (the follow-up to this album). Although it essentially signaled California's conclusion, it is often regarded as one of their best studio albums and a crucial piece of their discography. It features Alexandre Banks on acoustic guitar, makeshift drum-kit, tabletop electronic keyboard, electric guitar, HAPI drum, Kaossilator, bongo, Kentucky dulcimer, lap steel guitar, Buddhist prayer machine and vocals. It was recorded from September 2020 to December 2021 and released in January 2022 in Skokie, Illinois.
Track listing:
1. Chivalry 0:00
2. Any able manning 7:25
3. New-fashioned machine 15:09
4. Makes my blood boil 32:15
5. Grandmother’s pie 41:07
6. Mr. Ogilvie (Nithmus Aywosh) 53:58
7. Où sont les églises aujourd'hui? 1:04:00
8. TAI (As something new) 1:15:08
9. Should’ve could’ve wanted to 1:24:19
10. Sila gilamat 1:31:46
11. Lawncare professionals 1:40:49
12. So long sojourn 1:53:42