Jim White: Inner Day

In the words of Dirty Three bandmate Warren Ellis, Jim White’s drums are “the heartbeat of life”. Not a truer word has been spoken of an artist who has shaped the lives and aesthetics of so many around him. Bill Callahan, Cat Power, Marisa Anderson, and most recently with The Hard Quartet, you name it, White has left an indelible mark.

Last year finally saw the Antipodean Brooklyn-based gun for hire step out of the shadows to release his solo debut LP, All Hits: Memories. It sparked the kind of creative fluidity that unlocked the gates to wider terrains, and White explores them to great effect on Inner Day – his second release in as many years.

Again, with the help of his tried and trusted right-hand-man in Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto, Inner Day sees White broadening the scope in so many ways. Each piece elongated and more full-formed in comparison with the songs on All Hits: Memories, and it’s evident from the first note of opening cut, Deathday. Those trademark wonky synths, running through White’s compositions like the river flow, capturing the peacefulness of the slower pace of life.

There’s an added weight in these moments, giving one time to think with a deeper sense and perspective. The songs, What’s Really Happening, The Titles and Cloud, forming as subtle backdrops to such moments, as minimal plinks and rattles hover with gently spun warmth.

There are hefty moments, too – Longwood and Stepping, led by White’s marching band patterns that lock into Picciotto’s wandering synths for something beautifully hypnotic. Meanwhile, Two Ruffys sees White melding avant-garde into hymnal majesty with an emotional pull designed for churches. Alongside 11.12.14, both move gracefully at their own speed, pulling your thoughts to new corners. Between the two, White delivers his most beautiful moments as a solo artist.

Elsewhere, White continues shedding new skin. On the title track – one of two songs to feature his vocals for the first time in a solo capacity – White leans into the microphone, and as he confesses, “I made this song, who’s to say I’m wrong,” it’s the bohemian lament he was destined to write.

Featuring Zoh Amba of White’s short-lived supergroup, Beings, I Don’t Do / Grand Central is like the punk duet you’ve never heard. A gloriously rugged back-and-forth where White nervously tries his hand at singing, trading verses with Amba whose abrasive renegade spirit finds the pair meeting at Grand Central where, indeed, “the tablecloths are chequered”, it’s an absolute riot.

It’s the song that underpins Inner Day, showcasing White’s new confidence and adventurousness as a solo practitioner. Carving out of the kind singular signatures of music that have always extended beyond his endeavours in the Dirty Three, Inner Day continues White’s journey in developing new languages and voices. Where the latter is concerned, quite literally, the frequently humble and unassuming drummer hasn’t sounded louder.

Inner Day is out Friday via Drag City. Purchase from Bandcamp.