Before we get started here, credit must be given where it is due. “Lullaby and … The Ceaseless Roar” marks Robert Plant’s 10th solo album. He has officially released more records than Led Zeppelin ever did, but this statement does not necessarily deserve any form of fanfare or applause. While it takes incredible courage and maybe some ego to make music in the shadow of Zeppelin, arguably rock musics monolithic cornerstone, that courage becomes meaningless when the result feels as shallow as “Lullaby.”
It is possible that I am being unreasonably harsh here, but I take my Zeppelin offshoots very seriously. While I cannot mark Plant’s entire solo career as “crucial listening” status, I could definitely point to a few diamonds in the rough. “Mighty Rearranger’s” first track sounded like the little brother to “When The Levee Breaks,” which was twenty different kinds of rad. But nearly everything on “Lullaby” sounds irrelevant and rehashed.
Emphasis on the word “nearly.” The second track “Rainbow” uses a great guitar hook which brings to mind modern indie rock a la The National and Yeasayer, and is probably the only track that I will revisit later. The album’s second greatest moment lies in a track that Plant didn’t even write. “Poor Howard” romanticizes the work of blues legend Leadbelly, while drawing in celtic influences perfect for a summer night back-porch hoedown. Think Zeppelin’s “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp” mixed with Pixar’s “Brave.”
Unfortunately, the album’s gems stop here. Throughout “Lullaby,” Plant struggles to make mandolin-driven lead riffs feel important, a feat that Jack White managed to accomplish earlier this year. Opening track “Little Maggie” completely lost me around the minute and a half mark, when an otherwise interesting mandolin and banjo combination becomes muddled with a messy, syncopated drum beat. Plant’s vocals feel thinner than ever here, making you second guess whether or not this is the same man responsible for “Achilles Last Stand.” The album’s diamonds do not make up for the rest of the rough. Trust me, “Lullaby” is a total snooze.
