Trax
By Bliss 01/28/2010
J. TILLMAN, Wild Honey Never Stolen (Western Vinyl): (3 stars out of 5)
The bearded Fleet Foxes drummer follows his contemplative full-length “Year in the Kingdom” with this seven-inch record. Studded with arresting images (“I saw the judgment of the living and the dead/ I took you in my arms when the devil turned his head”), Tillman’s emotive lyrics, deliberate pace and rustic instrumentation build dread in the post-apocalyptic “Wild Honey,” while “Borne Away” somberly imagines a different end to King Arthur’s Camelot. myspace.com/jtillman.
VARIOUS ARTISTS, Crazy Heart Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (New West): (4 stars out of 5)
Producer T-Bone Burnett scores again. This viscerally satisfying platter salutes the ’70s period when “country” meant Willie, Waylon, Kristofferson and songs that felt lived in, not overproduced. Tunes performed by actor Jeff Bridges (whose understated grit serves the material well) fit comfortably with country, folk and blues cuts by Buck Owens, George Jones, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Louvin Brothers, Kitty Wells, Waylon Jennings, Lydia Mendoza, Sam Phillips, Townes Van Zandt and Lucinda Williams. Highlights: Ryan Bingham’s Golden Globe-winning “The Weary Kind,” and a slow-burning instrumental from the late Stephen Bruton. newwestrecords.com.
FRUIT BATS, The Ruminant Band (Sub Pop): (3.5 stars out of 5)
If you’re just now downloading this fine August release, don’t mistake it for early ’70s rock. Songs like the bittersweet “Singing Joy to the World,” with its nod to Three Dog Night, evoke the era as surely as frontman Eric Johnson’s sturdily constructed songs and limber, mellowed-Robert Plant-style vocals. But though the deft quintet’s guitar riffs and chord progressions trace back to Led Zep and the Who, they chart their own course forward. At the EchoPlex tonight. fruitbatsmusic.com.
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