Rostam - American Stories

“I know that the world will come apart / I hope that the pain is gonna stop,” sings Rostam on the penultimate track from ‘American Stories’, his third solo album and first record in five years. It’s an appropriate sentiment given the current global political climate, but the wording is also vague and conflicting. Is it pessimistic? Is it hopeful? Perhaps it’s pretty much all of our duelling emotions while we’re trapped doomscrolling.

In fact, the very concept behind ‘American Stories’ could hardly be more timely. The former Vampire Weekend member (full name Rostam Batmanglij) was born in Washington DC with family roots in Tehran, and after mining classical influences for previous albums, has now set his sights on the most American of genres: country and folk. But more than that, he’s described how the LP aims to weave together his dual heritage, creating what he calls a “marriage of East and West” between American and Iranian traditions. As he said in a recent interview: “What makes music American? Who gets to be American?”

The backdrop of country and folk influences suit him perfectly, and the record sounds crisp and evocative throughout. But it’s the moments when you can properly sense both cultures colliding that elevate proceedings. On ‘Like a Spark’, that convergence takes the form of mandolins and mellotrons that subtly intertwine with setar-like strings, while ‘Back Of A Truck’ opens as highway Americana before descending into a distinctly Persian rhythmic breakdown. When the fusion comes together fluidly, it often feels joyous: the Iranian influences merging with Western folk progressions to create something that sounds entirely seamless.

As the record progresses though, the Iranian influences gradually recede, and the fusion that feels so enriching at times seems to give way to more conventional indie-folk. It feels like a missed opportunity, or an album narrative that hasn’t quite fully come to fruition. A collaboration with Clairo on ‘Hardy’, too, promises a lot but feels curiously under-utilised, a team-up that reads better on the liner notes than it sounds on the track.

It might be called ‘American Stories’, but anyone expecting loud political anthems here has probably come to the wrong place - that’s never been Rostam’s - nor his former band’s, for that matter - wheelhouse. Instead, the record channels his identity and experience more obliquely. Some themes shine through: ‘The Road to Death’ ruminates on human fragility, ‘Different Light’ on our hope and perseverance. It’s the closing track ‘The Weight’ that comes closest to direct protest, detailing a scene at a student demonstration: “Warm heads on the pavement… calling out a broken government”.

It’s a poignant listen in all. As Rostam sings over stripped-back piano on ‘To Feel No Way’: “How does it feel to start over and alone? But I’ll figure it out on my own.” A record of reflection and connection, it’s one that, at its best, ranks among the more beautiful-sounding you might hear this year.