In the Irish novel “Dracula,” Bram Stoker gives us a reliable narrator in the solicitor Jonathan Harker. As his journal (presumably found as it is presented with dates and memorandums completely intact) unfolds, Stoker is presenting us with a firsthand glimpse of the discovery of new cultures.
The train ride from Munich into the Carpathian Mountains is one of slowly building uncertainty. Away from the bustle of England, Harper’s key details of trains that do not run on time and exotically spiced meals mask a disturbance in his sleep patterns that leads to weird dreams and ultimately a possible fugue state between awake/asleep. Rather than use an all-knowing narrator, Stoker leaves us the breadcrumb trail to follow while we glean exactly what is strange here. By employing this device, Stoker is appealing to our rational train of thought. In examining your own travels, there is always a culture clash and sense of discomfort from not having a home. So, while we understand Harker, we are not quite ready to give in to his instincts.
Harker is an eager, young, and very receptive medium for the oncoming change in energy. The idea of other forces taking control (or losing it) is Stoker’s method of triggering our imagination as readers. The Count seems to know right where Harker is. When the hotel delivers a letter to him, Harker is met with fear and even given a crucifix. All along, we as readers, and Harker have been co-existing. The ability to “step out” from Harker has kept our logic circuits in play. The closer Harker gets to Castle Dracula, Stoker manipulates our sense of logic until we have no choice but to fuse our point of view with Harker.
When we ride with Harker and the passengers in the first carriage, it is easy to see how well Harker can suppress his emotions and even adapt. However, when we board the caleche for the last treacherous leg of the journey, Stoker skillfully has Harker writing “mixed-up” details (the blue flames that appear roadside and the cloak of darkness actually protecting the revelation of what one should truly fear.) Making Harker seem more human now and unable to offer any reason but possibly falling asleep and dreaming some of this strange and repetitive ride is only preparing us for an odd burst of comfort when it is over.
The journey to Castle Dracula is important because it establishes Dracula's all-encompassing hold on the story and that Harker is not the protagonist. Knowing that his presence is somewhat temporary gives the tale the real fear that we will lose him (as Harker writes many times in his journal.) While there were numerous twists and turns on the way to the Castle, inside Harker knows that he has basically been taken prisoner. This leads to several tropes all of which slowly erode away his visions of a happy life with his fiancee Mina. Some become classics of the form. When told by the Count not to venture into other rooms in the castle, of course, Harker does. In addition, the Count tells him if he falls asleep anywhere but his chambers that he will have bad dreams. So, when Harker finds peace and quiet on a distant, abandoned wing - we know he is going to doze off.
Still, to his credit, Stoker uses the known to introduce us to the unknown - the three voracious Brides of Dracula. Having lost most of his ability to rationalize, it is also inevitable that a kiss from these women would introduce temptation ("a wicked, burning desire") into Harker. Also, unpredictable (but will become a chilling characteristic to use in the future) is when Harker sees workers outside and drops secret letters to deliver to them, they find their way into Dracula's "disappointed" hands.
Where the Castle Dracula portion truly catches fire is when Harker figures the only way out of the dreaded estate is to get the main door key from the Count. Stoker's solution is so elegantly simple, but the path to it provides enough hair-raising chills that it has to be performed more than once. When Harker enters Dracula's lair, Stoker wisely writes there is nowhere to go but down. Even as Dracula leaves to board the Demeter and head for his new home in Carfax Abbey (right next to the insane asylum,) he leaves Harker with no hope at all. The Count and Stoker leave us with four chapters from a journal with no true conclusion.
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Mik Davis is the record store manager at T-Bones Records & Cafe in Hattiesburg.
NEW MUSIC This Week
††† (CROSSES) - Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete. [2LP/CD/CS](Warner) • In what is definitely the biggest post-Deftones boom release so far, Chino Moreno and Shaun Lopez of Far make brooding SynthPop that is most comparable to Deftones classic "White Pony" minus the guitars and danger. "Goodnight" does not necessarily play it safe. "Light As A Feather" never hits that peak that is so crucial to a Deftones song, while the loud, booming "Invisible Hand" may hit its zenith too soon. The haunting whispery vocals, bleary beats, and woozy synths on "Ghost Ride" (hopefully) hold more promise for this dark album.
GUCCI MANE - Breath of Fresh Air [AUTOGRAPHED LP/LTD CD](The New 1017/Atlantic) • A family man and eager to open the doors of his new label, Atlanta's master trapper Gucci Mane at press time had NINE singles out to choose from to lead this new album. So far, Gucci has cleaned up his beats (Mike WiLL Made-It on "There I Go" with a verse from J.Cole,) and broke out the Antares for a major hook ("Broken Hearted.") "Breath of Fresh Air" boasts collaborations with Lil Baby, Kodak Black, 21 Savage, Da Baby, Roddy Rich and still more. Come Friday, we will see what "Woppenheimer" has in store as TBONES will be hosting a LISTENING PARTY for "Breath of Fresh Air" FRIDAY NIGHT at 7PM.
BOYGENIUS - The Rest EP [GOLD LP/CD with MAGAZINE](Universal) • Of course one of the biggest albums of 2023 had excellent tracks left on the cutting room floor. Now that "The Record" proved itself to be Top 5 material almost around the world, Baker, Dacus, and Bridgers turn out four more just to keep you busy between tour dates.
ZACH BRYAN [LP/CD](Warner) • On what may arguably shake out to be the dominant release until the end of 2023, Zach Bryan lives up to the promise of "American Heartbreak" with a stripped-down, dark, and dangerous set of songs. Smart enough to bring in Kacey Musgraves, The War and Treaty, Sierra Ferrell, and the Lumineers for the most "singleworthy" cuts, Bryan on his own digs deep to become a possible Country/Americana realist. We already knew he was a storytelling and deep inside an Eighties-style Heartland rocker in wait. However, "Zach Bryan" finds a way to connect with Rock, Country, and even Indie audiences like he was a new Springsteen. Earnest as Nineties country used to be, yet able to write sing-a-long choruses that could fuel 1000 Emo band, "Zach Bryan" is the star-making machinery doing the right thing and letting him just be himself.
CHRISTONE "KINGFISH" INGRAM - Live in London [2LP/2CD](Alligator/Redeye) • With a Grammy on his mantle and two albums under his belt, Mississippi's new sizzling bluesman Kingfish takes his high-flying Electric Blues overseas to wow a London audience with a slice of what we saw take root at the Thirsty Hippo years ago.
REISSUES OF THE WEEK
FLEETWOOD MAC - Mystery To Me [BLUE LP](Rhino) • 1973 was the beginning of the second and most successful act in the life of Fleetwood Mac. Before 1975's "Fleetwood Mac" and 1976's "Rumours" started their run on the album charts that still continues today, Fleetwood Mac was trying to end a period that was increasingly frustrating. In New Orleans, LA in 1970, the group introduced Christine McVie to the group and began to veer away from their bluesy years with Peter Green. Tour troubles led to the firing of Danny Kirwan, opening a revolving door of guitarists that led to second guitarist Bob Welch stepping up. "Mystery To Me" was the first album solely featuring the songs of Christine McVie and Bob Welch. The slimmed-down lineup (including new guitarist Bob Weston - not long for this incarnation due to having an affair with Fleetwood's wife) took the band's first true steps toward the smooth California sound that would make them millionaires. Welch's "Emerald Eyes" and "Hypnotized" became American AOR hits with their sleek guitar lines. While Welch's sudden soulfulness outshined McVie's honest writing, her harmonies were still critical to the image of these tracks. Behind them, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood enhanced their consistency ahead of the flash of Blues to give these cuts the same pulse that would sell truckloads of records. Unfortunately, the album was not a hit and the band actually disbanded. In true Mac fashion, their charlatan manager then assembled his own version of the group to fulfill tour dates ("The New Fleetwood Mac.") The legal morass actually brought the band back together by the end of 1974 where Welch led them to move their home base to California. After the failure of the 1974 follow-up "Heroes Are Hard To Find" (also, like "Mystery" - a misunderstood California Rock gem,) Welch left exhausted and dissatisfied. Left again with the question "What do we do now?" Mick Fleetwood was visiting Keith Olsen's Sound City studio when Olsen played him a tape of a new male/female duo he was working with.
GHOST - Infestissumam [ORANGE LP](Loma Vista) • Making the jump to a major label after the surprising success of their debut "Opvs Eponymovs," Swedish Metallers Ghost landed in Nashville, TN for the second album. Here is "Year Zero" for the Ghost we now know (although, they were temporarily rebranded Ghost B.C.) Tobias Forge's weird, unsettling lyrics found their best path of delivery in his operatic voice (especially the high highs.) While they had a world of trouble finding a choir to sing backgrounds, the Blue Oyster Cult-isms of "Opvs" became a creation of their own identity. The Sabbathian "Per Aspera Ad Infini," the whirligig organ madness of "Secular Haze" and the ballad fusion of "Ghuleh/Zombie Queen" were the shape of things to come. Cuts like "Idolatrine" could even appeal to those who wanted Ghost to sound like their metallic forefathers. Ten years later, "Infestissumam" (Latin for "hostile") could not predict the massive success the ghouls would experience in its wake.
