The previously-committed agree: Let The Night Fall is the album they always knew Tris McCall would make. For those who haven't yet been introduced to the acerbic (but always melodic) New Jersey pop songwriter, he's given you a great place to start. Thirteen new tracks, community-minded and emotionally forthright, as wordy, witty and whistle-able as ever, performed by some of the Garden State and Brooklyn's most enthusiastic rock musicians. Highways to nowhere, convenience stores, conspiracy theories, disgraced politicians, break-ins, abandoned factories, radio stations active and defunct; in short, the whole North Jersey menagerie is brought to life in stark, vivid Turnpike colors. The Mayor of Jersey City sings support vocals on one track. There's an eight-minute epic about a fast food restaurant. Tris even stops the show to perform a minute-long étude of his own invention.
Tris McCall has been profiled in The New York Times, The Newark Star-Ledger, and the Jersey Journal, and other regional newspapers. Jersey City Magazine named him one of the ten most influential people in town. His songs have been played on ultra-hip (and ultra-square) radio stations and taught in political science classes at the State University of New Jersey. He's rocked Maxwell's, Mercury Lounge, and the Bowery Ballroom -- and also the Hudson County Courthouse, Grace Church Van Vorst, and the steps of his own City Hall. Hoboken Rock City calls him a major D.I.Y. talent, and suggests he "manages to make civic pride and responsibility sound like the punkest thing to come along since spitting on people."
Heady it is, but there's no trace of the homework assignment hovering about Let The Night Fall. On the contrary, this is an exuberant album, written and performed by a committed rocker who has spent years honing his skills on stages all over the tri-state area. Tris has played piano and synthesizer for My Teenage Stride, Overlord, Palomar, The Consultants, KaPow!, and other NYC metro bands, and on Let The Night Fall, those artists have returned the favor. The album features performances from members of all of those bands, as well as guest turns by musicians from Shilpa Ray and The Happy Hookers, The Brought Low, The Vitamen, The Negatones, and Gelatine.
All prior Tris McCall albums have been conceptually elaborate, and Let The Night Fall is no exception. An astute listener could plot the place-names on a map, connect the dots, and trace a cross-county trip that begins in the Poconos and ends in Jersey City. But if you don't have your atlas handy, it's no problem: Tris McCall has never been as candid, autobiographical, or downright approachable as he is here. Put the disc on, and let the ride begin.