Well. This is an unholy mess, but a lot of it's great. Some of it might actually be terrible but I think I love it. It's not like any other record I own, and totally different to TMEM.
The harp is relegated to rhythm guitar status, with the focus on the voice (with lyrics all the way through 16 minute songs - prog!) against a backdrop of strings. The romantic, American sounding strings are mellifluous and dramatic but rather shapeless, and the connection with the melody and balance with the voice is pretty tenuous. Tiny splashes of Jew's harp, banjo, electric guitar and helium and bass backing vocals pop up, buried in the mix.
The babyish singing is excellent, really intricate and dynamic with loads of texture, aswell as some tweeter shattering squeaks. As on TMEM, the lyrics seem to be nonsense, but again they're often very evocative and emotionally affecting. The one that has a clear subject is "Sawdust and Diamonds," a song narrated by puppets. It's heartmeltingly lovely and harp and voice only.
The production, by Steve Albini, is also warmer and rougher than on TMEM, and generally excellent. Hello tape hiss!
Sample lyric: "The sky was a bread roll, soaking in the mirror bowl."
PS I only really listen to the catchy tracks on TMEM, and am a little indifferent to the rest of it. Mind you, this one hasn't any hooks at all!
The Captain said:
Ripping to FLAC as I type.
What does that mean, is it pc nerdwords?
Yep. FLAC is the lossless format for my PC music server.