Eric Anders and Mark O’Bitz have worked together for more than 20 years in various genres but their musical home has always been in folk and Americana. On their Contrapasso EP (Baggage Boom Records), the Americana sound is to the fore.
They have invited several musicians, including multi-instrumentalist Mike Butler and drummer John O’Reily Jr. to work with them and created a bluegrass band with all the depth and richness that implies. Butler also mixed and produced the EP. Unlike earlier recordings, O’Bitz does not play on this EP, but his presence is felt throughout because he composed and wrote the music.
The title comes from the Latin words “contra” and “patior,” which mean “suffer the opposite.” In Dante’s Inferno and Purgatorio, “contrapasso” is the punishment of souls “by a process either resembling or contrasting with the sin itself.” In case you missed the clue, these songs are critiques of today’s “inferno” where Eric Anders believes Americans are “either enslaved by or oppressed by the ridiculously stupid beliefs of a racist and cultish minority of hundreds of millions.”
The four-track EP begins with “High on Cult Life,” an observation on cult mentality that opens a discourse with observations on society and political events in America. Sometimes, it is easier to blindly follow a charismatic leader – and they liken this to drug addiction.
“Bells Toll” delves into the causes of anger and fear, while “Sold Down the River” is a well-crafted final number. The haunting lyrics sung across the gently worked guitar line work well to create an emotive and hauntingly beautiful number.
Along the way, Eric Anders and Mark O’Bitz are attempting to unravel a complex cause and effect that prevails in American society today, originating in slavery in the South and traveling through events and time to the Trump era of now. Isolation and a lack of grounding can create opportunities for false idol worship in the form of ideals perpetuated by equally false leaders.
The music is deeply emotive at times. At others, the harmonics are blended so well that the ear is taken completely by them so the narrative is temporarily lost. Either way, the effect is evocative. The overriding message on Contrapasso is to beware of following what appear to be strong leaders with sound ideals because, in the end, they will turn on the very people who propelled them to power – and by then, it is too late.
Contrapasso has taken six years to come to fruition and perhaps it is timely given the current events in the world. Maybe the message is just what the world needs to hear.
- Joan Torres’s All Is Fused – ‘Embrace Form’ (2024) - July 14, 2024
- Julian Costello – ‘Vertigo’ (2024) - June 29, 2024
- Eric Anders and Mark O’Bitz – ‘Contrapasso’ (2024) - June 21, 2024
