ALBUM REVIEW: Aaron West And The Roaring Twenties – ‘In Lieu Of Flowers’

Across two albums and now ten years of existence, the Aaron West persona has begun to feel more and more like an extension Dan Campbell’s own. Not in the sense of breaking down the barrier between what’s real and fictitious, but more in the way that the similarities of each side have become intermingled. As Campbell has grown and his work in The Wonder Years has shifted to reflect that, Aaron West And The Roaring Twenties has been the tandem vehicle to drill deeper and extrapolate a little. With The Wonder Years, Campbell’s own mental anguishes have formed the backdrop of placelessness and leaving his children to grow up in a hostile, unforgiving world. For West, meanwhile, tales of miscarriage and divorce have been spun under equal duress and rigour.

For a side-project, there’s been a lot thrown into this work by Campbell, likely for good reason. Of course, you could argue that this level of care and meticulous craft is his usual M.O.—the consistent quality of The Wonder Years’ work would prove that handily—but in a project devoted to playing a character and fleshing them out as a narrator, it’s a necessary step to take. When a lot of punk and emo frontpeople step out on their own, there’s an expectation of letting the mask fall to show their unfiltered selves; here, the requirement is to put one up. You’d never know it, though. On both Aaron West albums, you’d believe that Campbell has lived every word himself, a trend continued by in Lieu Of Flowers. Once again, the magnitude of detail and humanity and utter gumption put in leaves this in a league of its own.

That’s not hard to believe, considering a few tweaks are all that’s needed for In Lieu With Flowers to basically be a Wonder Years album unto itself. Hell, with the succinct crossover hits in Alone At St. Luke’s and Spitting In The Wind, they’re basically there already. Though, to think that’s even in the same orbit of criticism is grossly mistaken. When you’re wearing comparisons to scene standard-setters and getting them this close, there’s a floor of quality beneath you, regardless of what else comes to pass. It’s also the benefit of Campbell sharing the same energy with both, where any drop-off from one to the other is pleasantly minimal. It’s not an offshoot, but the same rising tide plays a significant role.

You can really tell in the writing, the cornerstone of previous Aaron West projects that’s put such an enormous force of gravity behind them. As a continuation of that throughline, In Lieu With Flowers presents little cause for concern, but there’s almost a finality to consider this time, or at least an uplift in circumstance that brings an end to the chapter. That’s all via the most ‘standard’ framework of an Aaron West narrative, too—exhausted and self-destructive, the narrator attempts to claw himself out of rock bottom, seeking rehabilitation and looking to make amends to the loved ones his behaviour most affected. It’s sold as believably as you’d want too, in how much it’s informed by previous albums of hardship, and how that vaporises even a notion of being trite or rote.

The fact it’s coming from Campbell practically guarantees that anyway. By now, it’s pretty common knowledge that he’s a terrific songwriter and frontman, for which a somewhat eased-back side-project continues to make fine work of. It’s his lyrical style that packs in the most, as the knack for peppering in geographical locations and character names make these feel like living vignettes; they’re not generic situations to paste over narrative beats. There’s also the characteristic snappiness at play, and knack for a terrific standout line. “Graffiti on the wall says ‘Fuck the Tories’,” goes the first line of Alone At St. Luke’s, in one of the most immediate scruff-of-the-neck-grabbers a song has had in some time. Elsewhere, there’s a pain and a weight to Campbell’s self-deprecation that feels depressingly candid and real—Roman Candles lets out “We’d talk about the future / Like we’re begging it to kick our fucking teeth in”, and the soft piano and cracking voice of Runnin’ Out Of Excuses opines “If there’s a way to fuck it up, I’m gonna find it” in heartbreaking plainspokenness.

It’s as bone-deep and authentic as you’d expect from Campbell, even down to its ‘happier’ ending. The narrator does find solace and stability once again, returning home on the brighter, gentle closer Dead Leaves where the air is more wistful than outright triumphant. It’s the right mood, though, as a moment of personal accomplishment that means more to the narrator than anyone else, and that an Aaron West album feels custom-built to carry. Instrumentally, it’s a more plaintive, homespun listen. The scale is generally smaller, and open to homespun cuts of alt-country like Whiplash or I’m An Albatross, or the gorgeous Paying Bills At The End Of The World.

Granted, they’re just one piece of the Americana that Campbell anchors himself to. If ‘sprawling’ is too strong a word, In Lieu Of Flowers can definitely be open and oxygenated, in no small part due to the horns and saxophone providing a jubilant splash of colour across most tracks. Springsteen is the obvious touchstone here, where the heartland sweep of Smoking Rooms introduces the idea, and Roman Candles and Monongahela Park plate it in gold. Seriously, that latter song might be the new chief stunner in the Aaron West canon, as its strings and brass motifs float and dance and finally merge, all while the spirit of fist-clenching emo quakes and quavers at the core. There’s not a production blemish or errant moment of overcooking to be found; in terms of straight sound, In Lieu Of Flowers is basically flawless.

Expectedly so, at that. Campbell has fully secured that bar for everything he does, of which In Lieu Of Flowers is precisely in line but no less welcome. In fact, the familiarity makes it all the more inviting, to see the journey of a flawed protagonist reach new milestones, and the narrative voice behind it embody such passion. Of all similar musicians to undergo the singer-songwriter transition, there’s an argument that Campbell is easily among the best of them, and it really wouldn’t be close. Where so many others can lack the dimensionality or power or simple larger appeal, In Lieu Of Flowers channels the best of its associated outfit, and brings them in absolute spades.

For fans of: The Wonder Years, Spanish Love Songs, The Gaslight Anthem

‘In Lieu Of Flowers’ by Aaron West And The Roaring Twenties is released on 12th April on Hopeless Records.

Words by Luke Nuttall