Album Review: Cass McCombs - "Interior Live Oak"

Interior Live Oak, Cass McCombs' sprawling new double album, holds together like a tightly knitted glove and it 100% deserves its elongated runtime and attention.

Domino - 2025

At this point in his career, Cass McCombs doesn't have much else to prove. Jumping between numerous genres like a chameleon, giving off wit and humor like a dryly witted comedian, being a prolific singer and songwriter, all while releasing thirteen studio albums in the span of over twenty years? That's pretty solid if you ask me. McCombs isn't done yet nor should he be. He clearly loves the craft of writing and creating a song. Just listen to records like 2017's Mangy Love, 2011's Wit's End, or 2013's Big Wheel and Others and you'll get classic folk rock, indie rock, psychedelia, jazz, and plenty of guitar jamming under a quietly, softly sung McCombs. Listen to "County Line" and you'll immediately hear a modern classic. When compared to his peers of veterans, like Bonnie "Prince" Billy, David Bergman, Bill Callahan, or more recent artists like Kevin Morby, McCombs stands out and is completely his own.

So with a new, sprawling double album at an hour and fourteen minutes in length, McCombs simply asks himself, "why not?" Interior Live Oak is the album in question and yes, it certainly is a lot of material but it 100% deserves its elongated runtime and attention. Every song is rewarding to listen to, even the ones that may meander a bit in its own space. Each tune has its own take and vibe, where McCombs tackles a variety of genres and tones, and yet the album holds together like a tightly knit glove. It reminds me of albums like Mangy Love, where he'll go about different genres while still making a cohesive album experience. The album starts out strong with three of the best tunes here. "Priestess," a smooth, soulful rock song, goes down like fine wine. "Peace" has the infectiously catchy guitar tones that will stick with you all year. "Miss Mabee" is the playfully simple and direct tune that one can certainly appreciate. There are gorgeous acoustic ballads that shimmer and glow like the sun peering through trees, including "Home at Last," "I'm Not Ashamed," and "Strawberry Moon." "Juvenile" joyfully pulls from 50's pop with glee and humor, spouting numerous things that suck: mean people, outer space, authority, you, me, and 90's rock band Primus. The title track is a bold Western bluesy ditty with pedal steel. "Asphodel" has one of the best grooves on the record and is one of the funniest, including the line "she was just that type of girl to crawl through a demonic steam through a dead dog's mouth."

Some of the tunes do meander a bit, such as "A Girl Named Dogie," "Lola Montez Danced the Spider Dance," or "I Dream About Trains," but elements of them still do marvel in the track listing. The kinsmanship sounds that of veteran musicians expertly playing together and knowing their every move, the production is crafted well. The replayability is there through and through, where due to its fun variety, this album is made to be shuffled to your hearts content. It's also great when listening in order too. I can't say a whole lot of bad things about Interior Live Oak. Like most of Cass McCombs' material, it's stellar. Some highlights are impressively his career best and considering he has such a consistently great catalog, it's a hard feat to pull off the later the career goes. These days in the streaming age, so many artists cram and dump their albums full of filler so that they could get as many streams and revenue as possible, ruining the art form of the album as a result. I'm glad there are still artists that love the album format and approach it with quality and craft in mind, especially that of a double album. Cass McCombs is still on his A game and you got to appreciate that. Artists, take notes!

My Rating: 8 / 10

Favorite Songs: "Peace," "Priestess," "Home at Last," "Asphodel," "I'm Not Ashamed," "Strawberry Moon," "Diamonds In the Mine," "Interior Live Oak"