Tractor Operator, Bleeding Hearts and Severed Legs (Jealous Butcher)

[September 26th, 2007]

[DARK FOLK] Tractor Operator is one of few local artists whose music I have a deeply personal relationship with: He’s written songs that I could swear are about me, and I’ve seen Eric Jensen (the man behind the moniker) play enough odd, intimate solo shows to feel like I know him. But knowing him, so to speak, means identifying with some pretty dark subject matter—and really, really liking it.

Part of enjoying such material, like the stuff on Tractor Operator’s excellent self-titled debut, means having a sense of humor. And Jensen often laces his biting social commentaries, warped family histories and tales of twisted love with an underlying quirkiness, as if he’s singing through a sinister smirk. But his sophomore release, Bleeding Hearts and Severed Legs , gets even darker without offering much relief. The songs, like live favorite “Smoke,” on which he attacks “sarcastic trendsetting fuckers,” or the awkwardly personal “Blessed Semen,” are still outstanding—sardonic takes on everyday life relayed by Jensen’s clear, confident voice and a bare, often plucked acoustic guitar.

But there’s a shadow hanging over Bleeding Hearts , as well—and the thematic heaviness is mirrored by heavier sounds. “Tennessee,” for instance, features Jensen repeating the line “everything is fucked” over dissonant, creepy guitar and pulsing bass (he plays almost everything on the album). The result is awesome in its poor-guy-who-drinks-too-much imagery, but its dejection acts as a thick black marker drawing dead-doll X’s over Jensen’s knowing smirk.

Plus, Jensen premiered many of Bleeding Hearts ’ tracks live—and nothing suits raw music better than a raw performance. On “The Night,” Jensen pairs bitter lyrics on the demise of a relationship (“I’m not drunk enough/ To drive you home for the last time”) with subtle atmospherics and a stark, strummed guitar; the effect is as close as the record gets to his live show. And when he sings the closing line, “If you take everything/ Leave me the night,” you can almost begin to understand those who cut themselves—sometimes bloodletting feels strangely satisfying. With all those hearts and severed legs, though, Jensen’s latest drowns a bit in its own crimson-colored misery.