NEW ALBUMS
LIAM KAZAR
Due North
Infectious debut from Jeff Tweedy and Steve Gunn sideman.
By Michael Bonner
ALEXA VISCIUS
DISCOVERED Searching out the best albums new to Uncut
WOODSIST/MARE
8/10
DURING lockdown, Liam Kazar found new ways to make a living. With his regular gigs playing in Jeff Tweedy’s live band on hold, Kazar opened Isfahan –a delivery-only kitchen, named after a Duke Ellington song, whose cuisine is inspired by his Armenian heritage.
Such resourcefulness has been evident throughout Kazar’s career so far. As a teenager in Chicago, he was a member of Kids These Days, an eight-piece musical collective whose sole album Traphouse Rock was produced by Tweedy. Since then, Kazar has busied himself as a journeyman guitarist, performing with Tweedy, Steve Gunn, Chance the Rapper and Daniel Johnston. Before the pandemic, he and some friends put together a David Bowie tribute show.
Inevitably, Kazar – born Liam Cunningham – arrived late to a solo career. He finally made his debut solo recording on Uncut’s Wilcovered compilation in 2019, where his version of “Sunloathe” came bathed in warm slide tones that foregrounded the George Harrison influence on the original. Meanwhile, the first sightings of Kazar’s original material arrived last year with “Shoes So Tight”, a sprightly, soulful jam built around Kazar’s core band: Spencer Tweedy on drums, Lane Beckstrom on bass, Dave Curtin manning a punchy Prophet VI and co-producer James Elkington on pedal steel. The video found Kazar in full Pierrot make-up, inspired by Lindsey Kemp – but with his mop of tousled brown hair, he looked more like Dylan on the Rolling Thunder Tour. The song was a terrific calling card from an artist who, nine years after his recording debut with Kids These Days, had at last found his own voice. “I lost a few good years killing time,” he sings on “So Long Tomorrow”, which seems like he’s doing himself a great disservice: Due North might have been a long time coming, but it’s very much the work of someone who’s benefitted from spending a long time watching others do it well. Much like a chef at a pop-up restaurant, you might say – following treasured recipes and putting his own spin on them.