Digger Barnes and his boundless melancholy – discography of an alt-country musician

Imagine that you are in a small abandoned town in the midwestern United States. The population is you. Everywhere you look, there’s emptiness. It’s like you’re the only person not only in your shack, but in the whole universe. This is exactly the feeling Digger Barnes conveys in his songs.

Kai Buchheim, a native of Hamburg, Germany, is hiding under the mask of the sad moustache Digger Barnes. This is not Kai’s only project, he also makes ambient music. Actually, under the guise of a Digger, Kai pays great attention to space in his songs. All the arrangements are saturated with a mass of slow, drawling instruments: the sad piano and strings very often emphasize the minimalistic guitar and the unique timbre of the voice, which is difficult to confuse with anyone else.

The general concept of creativity penetrates into the visual part: all the covers and materials of the Digger are designed in a characteristic style, faded to pastel tones, reflecting the melancholy of the world in which the lyrical characters of the songs live.

In this article, we will look at Digger’s discography in chronological order, as in my previous article. Let’s start with the fourth album, since the first three releases are extremely difficult to find: they are not even available on the artist’s official website and his band camp. Apparently, the author considers his early works “The Trailer Tapes” (self-release on audio cassette), and the singles “My Name Is Digger” and “Digger & Allie” to be insufficiently mature. Having difficulty finding literally one song from that period, I can say that this is a decent track, but there is still no general concept in the sound that completely envelops the creativity of this project. Let’s not contradict the will of the author and begin our acquaintance with the album Time Has Come in 2009.

Time Has Come (2009)

I must say right away: this is my favorite Digger album, the most creepy and witchy. Everybody Run is probably the darkest and most mystical song in my entire discography. Honoring Johnny Cash’s God’s Gonna Cut You Down and reminiscent of Far From Any Road by The Handsome Family with its doomed mood, this thing is perfect for some horror movie set in the Wild West.

Jim‘s narrative is memorable from the first vocal notes. It’s a sad and mystical story, somewhat rhyming with Cash’s Devil’s Right Hand, but the Devil is more real here.

Song for a Sleepwalker is filled with the coolness of a sleepless night on the prairies. It is followed by a combative and disturbing, like a premonition of a thunderstorm, Waiting for the Snakes. And then there is a return to the theme of sleepless nights in the relaxing instrumental 4pm.

Gorgeous Old Brown Shoes is probably the most optimistic song on the album. I really like this feeling of travel that she gives. The River has a catchy two-line chorus, sung with lots of backing tracks. It gives way to an incredibly sad Slacker Song.

Next is the funereal instrumental miniature Time Has Come, after which the album ends with the incredibly sentimental One Trick Pony.

As I mentioned, this is my favorite album, so choosing your favorite tracks is not an easy task. But still, let it be Everybody Run, Jim and One Trick Pony.

Every Story True (2012)

The next album is Every Story True from 2012. There is much less mysticism here, the lyrics of the album have become more human. The arrangements have grown somewhat in layering.

Long Way opens a new chapter of sad journeys, immediately demonstrating a rich arrangement.

Next is the narrative Pure as Gold with a relaxing haunting chorus. Devil’s Child is trying to scare you with an evil banjo again. Banjo will accompany us to Oh Sister.

Waltzing There’s a Fire in the quiet turns into a sardonic march. In The Letter, smooth brushes and a guitar evoke the tragic true detectives again. It is replaced by the soulful and relaxing So Low.

The Real Way begins very meditatively, almost with ambient music, but later it is pulled by a very cheerful rhythm that synergizes with the guitar riff. With the use of backing vocals, rhythmic variety and multi-layered arrangement, this is perhaps the most interesting song on the record.

The album is rounded off by Losing Ground, which consists entirely of Digger’s signature airy sadness, with recognizable strings and a metallophone.

My favorite tracks are Long Way, Pure as Gold and The Real Way.

Frame by Frame (2014)

The next album was released two years later, in 2014. It’s called Frame by Frame and it’s much quieter than previous works. The corporate identity has remained unchanged, but the general mood has lost its notes of transcendence. No mysticism, just life.

This is perfectly confirmed by the first track of What Will We Do with a wonderful harmonica solo. It is replaced by the measured Way of the Rover, once again filled with road romance. The banjo in Keep on Rollin’ doesn’t scare you like it used to. It’s a simple, lighthearted song.

Two Ringing Ears pleases with a vocal duet and pleasant keys. Dangerous Man is a positive and good-natured miniature with pleasant violin melodies. 15 Years is filled with notes of either blues or urban chanson, Tom Waits violently bursts into the associative series.

Soon I Will Hold You Again, with its minimalistic arrangement, is a simple song for gatherings at a party in pleasant company. And finally, A Million Miles gives something really cool: once again, a rich arrangement with a clear rhythm and airy filling directs the gaze into the distance. There are not enough such songs on the album!

With its mix, Oil-Stained Hank brings it closer to the roots, as if it was performed at the beginning of the twentieth century. Or rather, as if it were a film about the beginning of the twentieth century.

At the end of the Winner & Loser finally puts you to sleep. To be honest, I imagined the song about Lady luck more acutely.

It’s much more difficult to select favorites here, because for my taste the album is much more boring than the previous ones. But nevertheless, A Million Miles, What Will We Do and Dangerous Man are added to the playlist.

Three years later, on another label, as I understand it, my own (Hometown Caravan published the previous records), Near Exit 27 is released.

Near Exit 27 (2017)

This is an even more relaxed record than the previous one, although it is sustained in a similar good-natured mood.And anyway, she’s frankly weak for my taste. That is, if you consider it in a vacuum, everything is great. But looking back at previous works, it’s literally a long goodbye.

The Hoopoe also inspires hopes for something beyond and sad, mainly due to the brass instruments. But Travelin’ Man and Way Too Long are frankly boring for my taste. The first one has the smell of Waits again, and the second one just doesn’t catch on, considering what I’ve listened to before. Considering all the cinematography of Digger’s music, these two songs can be called fillers.

You Can’t Run from the Devil is invigorating against the general background. More train beat on the drums, marimba in the clouds. Well, the topic of catching up with the devil has been pleasing me personally since the first time I listened to Gene Vincent. And also this track ends very pleasantly, throwing all the rhythmic instruments.

Mary Lou is not welcome here, unlike Ricky Nelson. This is a super quiet, heartwarming juicer.

But I don’t have much to say about the following songs. They’re good in themselves, but looking at the timeline, we’ve heard all this on previous albums, and it’s frankly hard to remember these things. Only the closing track, Shine Like a Diamond, stands out favorably, finally highlighting the theme of diamonds, which were generously scattered across all the covers.

Moreover, this is a very elegant move, because this is where the career of the Digger Barnes artist can be considered completed. Kai is currently working as a composer for cinema and theater, as well as on his more experimental project Port de la Selva.

The playlist will include Shine Like a Diamond and You Can’t Run from the Devil.

The music of Digger Barnes is able to transport all of us to the very land of sad dreams, which does not exist on the political map of the world and has never been. This is the land of our favorite movies and songs, the land of eternal roads that will surely lead somewhere. The main thing is to keep going.