| $12.61
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first in stock on
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threads:
modern-psych
folk
bedroom
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| | | kranky (usa) #krank 120 cd boduf songs “how shadows chase the balance” compact disc - mission creep
- things not to be done on the sabbath
- i can't see a thing in here
- quiet when group
- pitiful shadow engulfed in darkness
- a spirit harness
- found on the bodies of fallen whales
- last glimmer on a hill at dusk
| september 2008 release ; the second from matt sweet & co ...
while i enjoyed the first boduf songs outing, it wasn’t until i caught their (a trio by that stage) performance at the 2008 brainwaves festival that it all started to make sense ; a borderline inaudibly quiet set of almost sea-shanty lineage “downer” material(s), entirely acoustic, sang barely above a breathy whisper in a near pitch-black theater to a dedicated crowd of several hundred on a blustery november afternoon (even a stray seasonal sniffle would have wiped them out, let alone a sneeze !) - easily one of my favorite musical moments of the year ...
the set in question was largely comprised of materials from this album, captured in full “bedroom” spec, with mat’s vocals mainly augmented by stray classical guitar strums & the occasional electronic ambience (listen to the tail-end of the sound-sample) ... really lovely album, especially as contemporary folk-based forms are starting to advance to showier plateaus ; this is straight black-cloud throughout ... |
| | artist: boduf songs
title: how shadows chase the balance
catalog #: krank120
formats available: cd
release date: september 29, 2008
on his second full length release, mathew sweet uses the same formula that he has employed previously; one microphone, one acoustic guitar, a few random instruments, a couple of field recordings, and a deft, understated touch with the mixing process. he locked himself away in his home studio (to be honest, his bedroom) and no one else heard a single note until he was finished.
this album is a further step away from the "folk" label, which never seemed all that appropriate to mathew's work in any case. if you record solo with an acoustic guitar the description is somewhat inevitable. but the results might more rightly be construed as "acoustic death metal" considering the themes of death, alienation, fear, hatred and isolation that are his forte, as well as his affinity for gothic imagery.
mathew states that the album was mostly recorded at night because there was less background noise to contend with in his neighborhood at that time of day. but if you listen closely you can still hears small bits of rain hitting the window, and cars sliding by on wet roads.
the final result is one of the most unassuming, and engaging recordings of the year. it is intimate, extremely personal, and spectral in presence.
the second full length release from this uk resident follows his lion devours the sun album from late 2006 on kranky. a lot of artists are described as "outsiders" or "underground", but with mathew sweet this is actually an apt description as he belongs to no 'scene' and is working on the farthest fringes of the 'music business'. |
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