Owen Ashworth's third album as
Advance Base,
Animal Companionship, includes several songs about pets, and their owners' relationships with them.
Ashworth explains that even though he doesn't have a dog, he was finding himself giving advice to all of his friends with dogs, and it made him consider what pets mean to humans. Opening song "True Love Death Dream" illustrates the vitality of owning a pet while facing the death of a loved one, while "Dolores & Kimberly" and "Your Dog" describe the type of void left by a divorce that owning a pet can at least help to fill. As with much of
Ashworth's output, these songs are downcast and glum, filled with narratives of lonely souls without anyone to turn to, except for their pets. "Care" begins by describing a couple waking up to find their house on fire; they rescue the dog and leave everything else, and the incident makes them realize how much they truly care for each other.
Ashworth's weary croak delivers stark descriptions of desolate scenes ("streets so empty you'd think it was the rapture") without sounding alarmed or dramatic. Midway through the album, a cover of
Magnetic Fields' "You & Me & the Moon" appears, offering a low-key glimpse of ecstasy in between the tales of despair and tragedy. The arrangements are a wintry yet warm mixture of keyboards, steel guitars, and trudging drums (or drum machines), primarily recorded in a proper studio by
Ashworth's longtime collaborator
Jason Quever. They maintain the rawness of
Ashworth's past work, offering just enough to make the songs work, while benefiting from a greater sonic clarity. As with any of
Ashworth's albums, this is an excellent set of poignant narratives that speak directly to human emotions without romanticizing anything. ~ Paul Simpson