On his forthcoming ninth studio LP, Hard to See Trouble Coming, Camper Van Beethoven co-founder Victor Krummenacher explores “such heady subjects as love gone wrong, burnt out friends, enduring love, drunkenness, paranoia, dogs, spaceships, Jacqui McShee, Tennessee Williams and the genius of Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks.” That description more than hints that the album has a lot of things to get a listener thinking. For now, however, Krummenacher has made available the LP cut “If I Could Only Close My Eyes”, a relaxed country number with tasteful accents of mandolin and steel guitar.
Krummenacher tells PopMatters about the track: “‘If I Could Only Close My Eyes’ is a song that’s about awareness. Simply put it’s about what happens when you have a realization or an epiphany or the like. When you are changed by an event, or a thought, good or bad, and you can’t do anything about it, even though you very well may want to. It’s about that realization. And it’s about acceptance that comes with knowing that in a moment your fate changed. The music is a nod to the early solo albums of Ronnie Lane, which were hugely influential on me when I was finally able to track them down. And with that in mind it’s dedicated to Ian McLagan, who’s musical spirit was always inspiring.”
Hard To See Trouble Coming is out on 6 January through Veritas.