Midwest Dilemma is singer/songwriter Justin Lamoureux, accompanied by 23 musicians, plying their craft on woodwinds, strings, brass, symphonic drums, and other various chamber instruments. It's helpful to just list the wide array of instruments you'll encounter on this album because the types of instruments found on Timelines and Tragedies is so telling: clarinet, flute, electric guitar, mandolin, cello, upright bass, tuba, vibraphone, trumpet, piano, pedal steel, viola Pomposa, acoustic guitar, tenor saxophone, accordion, musical saw (!), and trombone. Lyrically, this album is Lamoureux telling of his ancestors' journeys to Montreal, to the youngish United States, and through the Depression and wars, up to the modern era. Intrigued yet? Me too.

The album opener "Montreal" is a strong start. The band masters a soft, restrained sound while also giving way to the dramatic nature of the historical tale - the beginning of the story, when Lamoureux's ancestors were heading out on a "wooden ship" for Montreal. The vocal harmonies and drums provide a passionate, symphonic backdrop that conjures the mental image of people scurrying to board a ship and set sail for a new life far across an ocean. The mystery is captured in the crescendos of both this track and the next, "Francoise." Francoise is our protagonist on the journey at this point, and some of his life and background are revealed in the lyrics here. A beautiful string arrangement sets up an image of wistful reminiscing, especially appropriate, dramatically speaking, for a person gazing into the wide open blue of an ocean from the deck of a ship. I believe the album falls a little short with "Fur Trader," which is very literally a retelling of a person's life story. However, it seems obvious that this is a distant interpretation, with random bits and pieces of key events of this person's life included in the lyrics, e.g. "You came down from Canada with the cruel winds of Quebec, and off you left with the French pioneer. But on that day, you laid down to rest…" The music is made up of lilting acoustic guitar and violin/viola, with a soft melody that provides plenty of flexibility (re: slow) for more storytelling.

The album picks back up with "The Great Depression," its quick, crisp snare drum paired beautifully with string harmonies that punctuate the fullness of the sound with quick, sharp whips. The excellent chamber instruments are used adeptly here, like the vibraphone, flute, and viola to name just a few. Keeping it very intriguing, though, is a subtle electric guitar juxtaposed with the more traditional instruments. Here, the band sounds incredibly tight and bombastic, creating a swirling, almost disorientating, wonderful chaos of chamber music that captures the seriousness of the subject matter strikingly. The lyrics give a tiny, but interesting slice of life about a farmer struggling with a decision to sell his land, and a woman, Victoria, who is on her way to giving up some of her prized possessions and watching as her children head off to work menial jobs or fight in the War.

There are at least three more notable songs on Timelines and Tragedies, songs that really grab hold of me immediately and keep my attention. These are "Generals Orderly," for its waltz drumbeat that also sounds like a military march, which is clever, and its stealthy acoustic guitar and lyrics that are thrilling for people who are fascinated by the past ("And the words read 'Hell on Wheels'"); "Chicago and North Western," for its city-slick guitar, clarinet and snare drums, which skillfully take you back in time in your mind's eye to any cityscape of the Midwest; and "Omaha," for its defiant, modern-world weary lyrics, and simplistic acoustic guitar, paired with hollow-sounding, passionate vocals. This is the most modern sounding song on the album, by a long shot. Some of the final half of the album is quite serious, and takes a more concerted effort to understand the nature of the lyrics and patience to appreciate the heavy-handed, slower musical compositions. The album loses focus musically, but only slightly. Whatever got convoluted musically is redeemed with the final song, "Damadge Is Done," a song rich in interesting vocal harmonies and duets, and pretty, easy-to-digest acoustic guitar and violins. The feeling is hopeless, yet somehow still upbeat. It becomes clear by the time you get to the album's final song that Midwest Dilemma has created a brave, introspective and genre-bending first offering with Timelines and Tragedies.

- Amanda Carnes

This review was originally published at http://www.tracermagazine.com.