Paul Cargnello – The Hardest Part Is You May Never Know

Multi genre-ist Paul Cargnello has been a staple in the Montreal music scene for a good while now, focusing his efforts on cementing a deserving reputation as one of the region’s reigning contemporary bilingual artists.  Combining congruent elements of punk rock, folk, reggae and blues, Cargnello’s funky methodology flows through anglophone and francophone roots.  His tenth studio album, The Hardest Part Is You May Never Know, plays to his audience by offering up twelve soul-satisfying tracks ripe with too-cool attitude.  

This time around, the focus seems to be on bringing the often opposed worlds of punk and blues together in a big way.  Songs like “Appeal To Me” jar and jolt like a cyborg breakdancing in a robotics lab decked out in 80’s shades and a fedora.  Big, rambunctious, guitars smooth out the one-two drumming and heavily stylized percussion.  Cargnello speaks in phrases born half way between poetic melody and choppy hip-hop, which comes to a front in the beat-heavy “Let ‘Em Leave.”  Likewise, the tight harmonica paths winding through “(I Feel You) Jim Joe” give a real rock n’ roll rebel cry.  Others like “Sidewalks Curl” land heavy on bass and rumble under droves of over top guitar solos so indulgent that it will have listeners rock’n out with their own air guitars.

As with all of Cargnello’s output, a definite left wing political mentality feeds his passion.  An ongoing activist agenda comes across in the unyielding perseverance of “Squeaky Wheel,” while “Same Old Game” pleads with listeners to expect and push for more than life hands them.  “Boots Stomping” gets big in a march about resilience.  Most songs are explicit but not direct, a strategy that does well to ensure that The Hardest Part maintains an approachable air.

Being from the west coast myself, Paul Cargnello isn’t someone that has been on my radar for very long.  In fact, until his signing with Stomp Records, I had minimal exposure to this twenty-year industry veteran.  Part of that may have stemmed from Paul’s focus in recent years in catering to the francophone music scene (three of his past albums were almost exclusively in French), but The Hardest Part Is You May Never Know swings the pendulum back into the anglophone camp for the benefit of those of us who may have been missing out.  On that note, even the few French tunes scattered about (“Les Montrealais,” “Rebel Architects”) are really easy to groove along with, even if you’re like me and only catch a few simple words.  Music is a universal language, and Paul Cargnello’s fluency in punk and blues articulately shines through.