Best of 2007 - from #90 to #86

90. [beforetherain] - '...one day less'
The long awaited debut full length of these Portuguese doomsters is vast and contemplative to the point of feeling like a journey. In fact, it feels like several journeys in one - both a journey to the most dramatic of human emotions and also a musical journey to a time when Anathema were putting out albums like 'Serenades'. Darren-period Anathema is indeed the main reference point here, especially for Carlos D'Água's mournful vocals, but in a genre in which it's hard to innovate, it's the work of riffmeisters Valter Cunha and Hugo Santos (who is also in the gigantic post-doom band Process Of Guilt) in particular that lifts '...One Day Less' above the usual norm. The pair weave a perfectly balanced tapestry of sorrow without being mushy, of melancholy without being wimps. Those seventeen minutes (count 'em!) of the closing title track must rank very highly on the song of the year category.

[BeforeTheRain] - 'You... My Ruin'



89. wormwood - 'starvation'
A very hard record to analyze, because of the highly unusual mix of elements that it contains. On any given song, this Seattle band can be building up a downcast riff worthy of My Dying Bride, only to have it mutate into five minutes of Neurosis atmosphere build-up, and have it climax on a female-vocal symphonic bit worthy of Peccatum. It sounds a mess, but it strangely works, and in case you're worried, the one theme running through the album is the murky darkness that envelops it all, so those cleaner atmospheric and symphonic parts don't really sound like artsy-fartsy meanderings and actually help to enrich the entire experience. Of course, the musical concept behind this album is so ambitious that it doesn't grab you completely for the entire duration, but in the wide majority of songs it does and as such it ranks as one of the very positive surprises in originality of 2007. The press release that came with the promo called it 'Panic-stricken Terrified Woebegone Metal of Hell' and, for once, it might be on to something.

Wormwood - 'Release From Expectation'



88. ravencult - 'temples of torment'
I was pretty excited about this record a few weeks ago, and my opinion still holds up!



87. bergraven - 'dödsvisioner'
[review published on the July 2007 issue of Rock-a-rolla magazine]
Don’t commit the mistake of raising the volume during the deceptively quiet beginning of this strange album. You would regret it three minutes or so later, when the black clouds are fully formed and finally descend upon you. Single member Pär (plus session drummer) single-handedly creates a black, hellish miasma, a mix of suicidal doom and ambient black metal as if Shining were playing ‘Dunkelheit’, expressing nihilistic self-hatred throughout the eight painful songs. Some interludes like those first three minutes come and break the overall thick fog now and then, although the album never meanders too far into ambient territory, and even the quieter parts feel somewhat alien and intangible, adding eeriness to the ensemble in a way similar to Ved Buens Ende. A few clean guitar leads also make their presence known and they are the disc’s weak point, as besides not being anything fantastic on a musical level, they detract from the very real black mood ‘Dödsvisioner’ is capable of creating. Otherwise Bergraven offer here an oblique approach to black metal that is very refreshing indeed. In a fetid kind of way, of course.

Bergraven - 'Ondkall'



86. boris with michio kurihara - 'rainbow' (michio) (boris)
[review published on issue #157 of Terrorizer magazine]
Something on Boris’ ‘Pink’ it didn’t quite fit the rock-out of the rest of the album - that opening atmospheric track, ‘Farewell’. This collaboration with guitarist Michio Kurihara picks up precisely from there, as opener ‘Rafflesia’ sounds like ‘Farewell’s missing 5 minutes, except greatly enriched by Kurihara’s endless-sounding leads. Such is their mesmerizing quality that they bring to mind the similarly infinite guitarwork of Katatonia’s ‘Brave Murder Day’. Given Boris’ increasing exposition, it’s easy to relegate Michio’s participation to secondary status, but nothing could be more unfair. Having shown consistent touches of genius in several bands, of which psychedelic rockers Ghost are probably the best known, he lifts some of these songs to brilliant status. Good examples are ‘You Laughed Like A Water Mark’, on which his swooping, swirling guitar contrasts with the laidback stoner vibe of the song, or the bluesy sounds that twist the otherwise shoegazing ‘Starship Narrator’ into something quite different.. Boris don’t lie back and watch, either. Showing no wear from the wealth of releases of the past few months, they push limits and explore new ground, always sounding exciting and otherworldly. The loud/quiet dynamics on ‘Sweet No. 1’ are pure Boris, as is the hazy cloud of ‘Fuzzy Reactor’. Just like ‘Altar’, ‘Rainbow’ is a consistent, tight collaboration that is much greater than the sum of its already excellent parts.

Boris with Michio Kurihara - 'Sweet nº1'

Best of 2007 - from #95 to #91

95. down - 'iii: over the under'
Never try / You either do it or don't waste your time, croons Phil Anselmo hoarsely on 'Never Try', one of the standout tracks from the third Down album. It shows the determination that's behind this album, a determination that's fueled by very real factors, especially for the former Pantera frontman - his battles with addiction, Dime's death and everything that happened up to that point, Phil is a man with demons and he's not afraid to look them in the eyes, and his vocal performance is intense, soulful and one of the best of his career. Katrina is also a theme hanging over the music created by all these New Orleans natives (Phil, Pepper from Corrosion Of Conformity, Kirk from Crowbar, Rex the ex-Pantera bassist and drummer Jimmy Bower who's been in nearly every known local band), and all these hardships give the hard rockin' blues of 'Over The Under' a very real and very gritty feeling. The music is right up there, too - from the 70s rock of 'N.O.D.' the the monstrous groove of 'I Scream', this is Down through and through and won't disappoint anyone looking for some honest, fat-groovin', heavy southern rock.

Down - 'Never Try'



94. nadja - 'touched'
It's drone, Jim, but not as we know it. Nadja's main man, Adrian Baker, has hit upon a formula that is nothing short of revolutionary, and will be more so once he develops it more. And he does get chances to, as his flow of releases is steady and fast-paced! But 'Touched' has been rather special among everything else Adrian has done recently. Withing the doom-applied-to-drone framework of Nadja, it's probably where you should start if you want to discover this band, or even a whole new genre. 'Touched' is drone for people who aren't into it (yet?), the swathes of saturated noisy textures always 'saved' by a sense of motion and of atmosphere that makes them listenable. Once these things start to settle through repeated listens, you start to perceive the enormous motion that's going on in these tracks, the underlying dynamics that build up tension and anxiety and then release them in huge cycles of sinister moods. To crown this achievement, there's 'Flowers Of Flesh', a total mindfuck of a 'song' that will be your best bet whenever you need to clear a room. Pay attention to Nadja in the future.



93. nifelheim - 'envoy of lucifer'
The Bröderna Hårdrock are back! The most famous evil twins of extreme metal, guitarist/bassist Tyrant and vocalist Hellbutcher, have returned along with the rest of Nifelheim which now includes former Entombed drummer Peter Stjärnvind, rechristened Insulter Of Jesus Christ! after his entrance into the Nifelheim kingdom. During this seven year gap, they did release a couple of split albums, tributes and a best-of, but not a proper full-length, which is what we really want from Nifelheim. The wait was long but worth it - 'Envoy Of Lucifer' is the most exciting record the band has done so far. A filthy, no-holds-barred blackthrashing attack (the mouldy crypt-like feel of 'Evil Is Eternal' has to be heard to be believed), it does nevertheless show an impressive level of musicality. Beneath the apparent simplicity and crudeness of the sound, there are real riffs and real structuring holding the songs together, something that is easily explained by the twins' love of hard rock and classic heavy metal, namely their obsession with Iron Maiden. At Wacken 2008, there'll be a chance to catch both Maiden and Nifelheim live, so let's all go and raise horns!

Nifelheim - 'Evil Is Eternal'



92. swallow the sun - 'hope'
After two sublime albums of Opeth-esque, growling doom metal, 'The Morning Never Came' and 'Ghosts Of Loss', these Finns have opened up their sound to let in a more fragile kind of melancholy. The crushing, hopeless doom riffs are still there, but now a little pale light is let in now and then with quieter passages and surprisingly delicate clean singing by vocalist Mikko Kotamäki. The appearance of Katatonia's Jonas Renkse on the song 'The Justice Of Suffering' speaks volumes, as they are one of the closest reference points to the hypnotic sadness that songs like the mesmerizing 'Don't Fall Asleep' are capable of creating. An elegant and subtle way to be doomed.

Swallow The Sun - 'Don't Fall Asleep'



91. type o negative - 'dead again'
Peter Steele and his cohorts' attitude on stage might be going a bit way too overboard with the don't-give-a-shit thing, but the fact is that, decadent (in a good or bad way, depends how you look at it) as they might look in that context, Type O Negative's albums have never wavered in quality. 'Dead Again' is yet another huge, hazy trip through the warped mind of Type O, with the by-now trademark overly long skip-me-if-you-dare song ('These Three Things'), the doomed-out rocker that always makes it to the airwaves (the apocalyptic 'The Profits Of Doom') and plenty of other drugged&doomed-Beatles sort of excursions in black humour, like 'Some Stupid Tomorrow' or 'September Sun'. Business as usual, and business is good.

Type O Negative - 'The Profits Of Doom'

Best of 2007 - The action is go!

I've been obsessively dedicated to music since I was a wee lad, and being extra anal about it I have naturally compiled every kind of list possible about music. But my most meaningful lists have always been the end of year ones, to the point that my, erm, liberal updating of this space has been greatly saved by these lists. It's that time again (ie, January), and during the painful task of compiling 2007's list I realized that this has been of the best years for good music, in the sheer amount of quality releases, in recent memory. Doing those top20s that the magazines I write for have asked me was hellish. Stretching it to top50 for too.many.records. alleviated a bit but was still unthinkable in terms of what it would still leave out. Therefore, dear friends, I present you my insane top100 of 2007. And you know what? There's still a bunch of unmentioned ones that I hate to leave out. That's how cool 2007 was.

Onward!

100. seahorse - 'i'll be new'
'I'll Be New' feels like a genuine musical experience just like they used to make 'em in the old days. A voice and a guitar recorded live in the studio, a backing piano and a little bit of electronics which really add to the atmosphere, and you have a record that feels like that old pair of sneakers that you won't wear out anymore but still keep to wear around the house because they're so comfortable and friendly. There is pain and heartbreak in these lyrics, of course, as there usually is in the music that comes straight from the heart, but the soft hush of the remarkably sharp and evocative lyrics and the occasional foot-tapping moment like the wonderful 'The Devil & I' make for a truly enjoyable experience and an album you'll return to more times than you might think at first.

Seahorse - 'The Devil & I'



99. in vain - 'the latter rain'
Getting people like Jan K. Transeth from the legendary In The Woods... and Kjetil Nordhus from, curiously enough, In The Woods... sort-of-follow-up-band Green Carnation, is a bold step for a band as young as In Vain. Yes, they are both amazing vocalists who greatly enrich the tracks they contribute to in 'The Latter Rain', but they also bring their baggage with them and all the drooly obsessive fans of those bands (including me, especially of In The Woods...) expecting huge things. That's the one thing you have to get over when facing this album, and it's not easy, especially since it sounds so bland on the first couple of listens. Once you do stick to it, however, the depth and subtlety of songs like 'In The Midnight Hour' or 'As I Wither' become apparent, and In Vain emerge as a sort of mix between Opeth's less flamboyant moments and those typically Finnish dark metal bands like Dark The Suns, for example. The quality of this debut is not always constant, but there is such a wealth of riches and potential in these guys that they will surely be on the must-watch radar in the next few years.

In Vain - 'In The Midnight Hour'



98. mithras - 'behind the shadows lie madness'
It doesn't have the same impact as their previous album did (which was not their debut, but since 'Forever Advancing ...... Legions' went by largely unnoticed it almost feels as if it was), but 'Behind The Shadows Lie Madness' is still a gigantic piece of work by the Leon Macey/Rayner Coss duo. If anything, the lesser impact is that because this new album doesn't stray too much from the path carved by its predecessor, but that's by no means a bad thing. First, because it's not a path well-traveled. Mithras' take on death metal is rather unique, a sort of Morbid Angel out in space, expansive, with crazy time signatures and a stellar technical level that allows them to turn beasts like 'The Twisted Tower' or 'To Fall From The Heavens' into mind-expanding rollercoasters of spaced-out brutality.

Mithras - 'The Twisted Tower'



97. paradise lost - 'in requiem'
Some will argue that this approach to the spirit of 'Icon' that has been going on since the last self-titled album is a sign that the Yorkshire gloomsters are running out of experimentation ideas, but a) with Paradise Lost, some will always argue and b) it's refreshing to see these guys not going all exploratory on us. Not that it was a bad thing - it's horrible to refer to this new phase of Paradise Lost as a 'return to form'. If you are just a bit open-minded in your tastes, it's easy to see that they have never really not been on form, if you kindly ignore the one bland and uneventful album of their career, 'Believe In Nothing'. 'In Requiem' doesn't reach the heights of the Paradise Lost classics of the early and mid-nineties, but that's not really the point, and times have changed anyway. It is a much better effort than the last album, however, and it's a great sign that the band is getting this vibe down much better. Melancholic and surprisingly hard in places, 'In Requiem' marks yet another valid step in the illustrious career of Paradise Lost.

Paradise Lost - 'Prelude To Descent'



96. elend - 'a world in their screams'
This French/Austrian trio keep releasing material that shows that you don't have to do faster-than-thou hard-as-fuck satan-metal to still produce harrowing, scary and downright intense music, and 'A World In Their Screams' is the latest example of that. They would infinitely deserve more recognition, but it's a hard middle-space to be in - Elend are too dark and too scary for the 'regular' audiences and too guitar-less for the 'regular' metalhead. The few lucky ones who manage to get their heads round this, though, are in for one hell of a ride. With over twenty musicians contributing to the work of the core three members, 'A World In Their Screams' is an unsettling experience, bombastic, orchestrated, with choirs and spoken passages clashing quite violently with shrieking violins, pounding percussive elements and pure noise, but somehow it all manages to fit together in one big, spooky world of darkness.

Elend - 'La Carrière D'Ombre'

Red and raw

crooked fingers - 'red devil dawn'
released: january 2003
merge records

songs:
1. big darkness 2. don't say a word 3. you can never leave 4. bad man coming 5. you threw a spark 6. boy with (100) hands 7. sweet marie 8. angelina 9. disappear 10. carrion doves

Some records are better enjoyed in a certain state of mind. Despite its consistent quality that has made 'Red Devil Dawn' a weekly revisited record of mine since its release in 2003, it's clearly an album for the brokenhearted. Not that Eric Bachmann's band (now performing solo, after an outrageously beautiful first album, 'To The Races') have ever been a bundle of laughs, but there's a strangely euphoric quality about this album's sadness, an almost resigned, contemplative weight of the spirit that can suddenly break into song for a little while just because a pretty bird passed overhead.

It's the storytelling that does it, too. Bachmann can sound deeply personal in his lyrics, going to the point of naming names (Angelina in, well, 'Angelina', Cary in 'Disappear'), but nevertheless all the stories manage to hit you straight through the heart. It's not an easy ride. There's loss, like in 'Don't Say A Word': There ain't no easy way to lose the heart you call your home, Bachmann's raspy but warm and honest voice softly proclaims over the acoustic background. There's the coming to terms with that loss and even finding redemption, like in the mentioned 'Disappear' and this shattering chorus: Cary don't cry I'm gonna disappear /And take this sorrow far away /So you can live your life /No need to ride through salt tracks of sad tears /There's beauty in an ugly thing /Redemption in demise. There are sad people, there are broken people and mistreated people, like the mysterious girl whom the boy with (100) hands tries to reach. There's even a bit of creepy menace in the oddly beautiful 'Bad Man Coming'.

None of this would matter if the music did not keep these moods, but it does so brilliantly. Bachmann's voice is seemingly fragile and vulnerable but never goes past the breaking point and he delivers his lines with a rare emotional poignancy. You get the feeling that these sombre acoustic songs, with the occasional flourish like the Spanish feeling of 'You Threw A Spark' or the rocking 'Big Darkness', would get the messages across even without those lyrics.

Suitably enough, it ends with 'Carrion Doves', an elegant and elegiac song, apparently about someone hanging on a decision that could change the course of love. There are victims to be made / Decisions to be weighed / You're guilty now but in your heart / There soon could be a change.

Change your heart. Go get this record.


the good: almost palpable emotion, elegant heartbroken songs that remain with you for years
the bad: nothing, really, but stay away if you want something jolly to listen to on a sunny afternoon

song of the day:
'Boy With (100) Hands'

hellenic horror

ravencult - 'temples of torment'
released: september 2007
dark essence records

songs:
1. the sigil of baphomet 2. in times of demise 3. onslaught command 4. blessed in heresy 5. commence the burning of heavens 6. the nightsky codex 7. utter cold void 8. the needles of truth

After a few more months of absence, nothing better to kick too.many.records. back to life than a bit of fucked-up black metal from hell, right? Well, it's not really hell, it's Greece, but don't let that little fact affect your judgement of Ravencult, because there is little Mediterranean-ness, or none at all, in their music. Unlike, say, Rotting Christ, to keep it in Greece, or Negură Bunget, to go a little bit up north to Romania, who are both living proof that black metal can jolly well have nothing to do with creepy Nordic woods, Ravencult have chosen not to wear their geographical origins on their sleeves. 'Temples Of Torment', their debut album, goes in the same direction that the couple of demos and the EP had gone already - which is the traditional orthodox BM sound.

Okay, so there are the foundations for a bit of bashing, right? Fortunately, this is one of those times when it's really cool to be wrong. There isn't anything revolutionary, or even mildly innovative, about 'Temples Of Torment', but sometimes we should remember that if something is well done, it doesn't have to necessarily break new ground all the time, or at all. When I say we, it's also a bit of self-criticism. We snobby reviewers are a bit obsessive about the originality thing, which at the end of the day is a good thing, because creativity should be valued above all things, but can also have perverse effects, like demeaning records that are pretty (or ugly, in this case!) conventional in form and/or concept, but are nevertheless quality releases that end up being played a lot even after we have scoffed at them about being "generic".

'Temples Of Torment' is a perfect example of that, as it is mostly following the footsteps of genre classics but it's also a blast anyway, exhaling a foul, evil atmosphere and providing diversity and meaty slabs of blasphemous brutality. The fact that important figures are involved in this album, like Knut Magne Valle (who played guitar for Arcturus and Ulver, for example) who produced the album and Stephen O'Malley (Sunn O))), Khanate) who did the cover art, lends a certain credibility to the band and might make a few more people take notice, but might also give misleading expectations. There is nothing experimental, melodic or lushly produced about 'Temples Of Torment' - sandwiched between the over-saturated samples of a church choir that open and close the album (similar to the one that precedes L'acephale's savage 'Book Of Lies'), you get no-frills, keyboard-free nasty black metal in the vein of Darkthrone or Bathory, except with a better sound and a few deviations into mid-tempo, like on 'In Times Of Demise, that work really well in terms of atmosphere.

Regardless of the speed, the aggression is vicious and constant, the bile reaching its high point on the hideously creepy 'The Nightsky Codex', a dissonant Aura Noir-like song that would be a serial killer hiding in the woods if it was magically turned into a person.

If you like your black metal raw and abrasive, while still maintaning musicianship and quality songwriting, Ravencult should be on your list of priorities.


the good: an example of how there's always life in a genre if things are done right, truly evil atmosphere
the bad: nevertheless, there isn't anything new here, or greek for that matter

song of the day:
'The Nightsky Codex'

2006 album of the year

tom waits - 'orphans - brawlers, bawlers and bastards''

The first thing that needs to be perfectly clear is that Tom Waits is the coolest man in the world. If you still need any evidence besides listening to his records, just go on youtube and look for a few live performances or interviews. Seriously, do. Few, if any, in the history of recorded music, have assumed so many roles and characters and musical personalities with the same elusive other-worldness, yet very deeply rooted to the world at the same time. Waits goes beyond the mere songwriter, or musician even. There is this aura about him that seemingly seems to turn every single artistic output from his part into something that truly matters. Whether he's the drunk loser singing his blues down at the local bar, the creepy carnival barker, the (anti-)religious prophet or the junkyard guy assembling new songs from discarded trash, or more yet, there is the unmistakable, unconventional, unique Tom Waits mark about it.

'Orphans' is where, for the first time, you can experience all of those in one thrilling, captivating sitting. The concept is perfect for Waits, and the title could not be more appropriate. From someone who has carved masterpieces out of little odds and ends of music, to have a collection of little musical orphans that have been almost lost along the way is incredibly fitting. Wipe from your mind any thought that these orphans are unwanted or inferior to the legitimate children, however. Throughout these 54 songs, 30 of them heard here for the first time, Waits performs some of his strongest material ever, both in terms of pure music worth and also emotionally speaking.



These orphans are divided into three discs, each of them with a theme. The first disc consists of the brawlers, ie, the most rocking, growling, bully-orhpans - closer to Waits' latest records, the period from 'Alice' and 'Blood Money' to his latest 'Real Gone'. While nothing is straightforward, the fat riffs on 'LowDown' or the oblique 'Rain On Me' will be instant favourites. It is typically hard to find highlights, but from this volume the unbelievable covers of the Ramones' 'The Return Of Jackie And Judy' and Leadbelly's 'Ain't Goin' Down To The Well', the dirty-souding Gospel of 'Lord I've Been Changed' and the rock-the-house-down of 'Fish In The Jailhouse' have to be mentioned. The most surprising moment, however, occurs with the 7-minute long 'Road To Peace'. The traditionally subtle Waits, politically speaking, delivers here a heart-breaking take on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a profoundly human view of the daily horrors of war seen from both sides. It's not even a protest song, it's a sort of reality check that should make anyone with a heart sit up and think about things.

After the thrills of the brawlers, you can settle down a bit with the bawlers. The lame ballad disc in any other artist's collection, here you get Waits' bittersweetness in its full. He somehow manages to create rousing, soulful, emotional songs that never once even look in the direction of sap. Closer to what he has written in the 70s and early 80s but infused with his experimental tendencies of the last decade, the jazzy 'You Can Never Hold Back Spring', the pastoral feel of 'Widow's Grove' or the simply soaring full version of 'Down There By the Train' turn Waits back into the lonely troubadour whose piano has been drinking, not him.

The last set of orphans is the most opaque and also the most fascinating one. The bastards welcome into their fold everything that doesn't really fit anywhere else, the truer, purest odds and ends from the ultimate odds and ends man. Here you get Waits at his most innovative, and also at his most theatrical of moods. His totally inimitable storytelling actually makes a story feel like a song that you will listen to several times, from the spookiest, creepiest of stories like 'Army Ants' to the downright beautiful like 'Nirvana', he will make you wish that you could have him around to tell you a story every night, even if after a few of them you probably wouldn't sleep much. Some other noteworthy bastards are the apocalyptic 'Books of Moses', the insanity of his version of 'Heigh Ho' or 'Dog Door', a collaboration with Sparklehorse that sounds like a carousel ride gone very wrong.



All through this, nothing sounds out of place, or of less quality, or even like anyone else. Boxes like this are usually a summary of an artists' life, spanning entire careers of, more often than not, dead artists, physically or artistically speaking. Worse still, if they are outtakes or leftovers or b-sides, they're usually completist's material only, for people who simply must have everything a particular artist has put out. 'Orphans' is none of that. It can't begin to summarize Waits' career, if nothing else because his career is still expected to give us quite a lot, but also because that's not the point. What 'Orphans' does summarize is the immense genius and appeal of Waits' music. It takes the best elements of all he has done so far, with the ever-present dichotomy of classic-old and experimental-new in his songwriting, and creates another new, tremendously exciting step for the rest of us to admire.

More than the album of the year, 'Orphans' is three albums of the year rolled into one faultless, genius whole.

song of the day:
'Road to Peace'

top50 - #2

2. william elliott whitmore - 'song of the blackbird'



or from:

My excitement about this record was probably very noticeable back then when I talked about its predecessor 'Ashes To Dust' and urged everyone to keep an eye out for this one. See, I had reasons. What I think and feel about Will and his music is already quite apparent in that review, so I can spare you all the redundant praise and step straight into 'Song Of The Blackbird'.

If you have heard Will before (and if you haven't, by god, fix that pronto) you won't be too shocked by the beginning of the record, with his by-now familiar banjo strum introducing 'Dry'. However, as the song progresses, and later the album itself, some slight changes are apparent, namely the melodic richness of the vocals. Will has never been monochordic, but some of the songs here showing a range that's much wider than before.


(photo by Curtis Lehmkuhl)

One of the things I like to do with Will's songs is show them to people who have never heard of him, and then ask them to describe how they think will looks like. His deep, gravely, weary voice is hugely misleading - I have had many answers but none of them are remotely close to what he does look like. On an interview at the Southern Records website, William talks about his appreciation for Minor Threat or Public Enemy, and this is one of the things that sets him apart from the rest. Even though the songs on 'Song Of The Blackbird', like the ones on the two records before, are deeply imbued with the traditional spirit of the South, and still as stripped-down as before (voice, banjo, occasional percussion, and that's it), some almost-pop hooks (pop in the context of Will's songs, do not get me wrong here) are apparent now and then, which makes the record a curious meeting of traditional past and exciting present.

Will's storytelling abilities have also been improving impressively. His music has often compared to Johnny Cash for little reason other than journalistic laziness, but storytelling is the only real area where the two are really very comparable. Like Cash, Whitmore can write seemingly individual, character-based stories that can resonate deeply within anyone, regardless of the reader/listener ever having anything to do with railroad workers, inmates (Cash only, this one) or farmers, to name but a few members of both men's favoured cast. Stories become universal because their basic themes are universal.

At first glance, Will's songs seem to be centred around death, but they're not. Death is a backdrop, it is indeed very present but merely as a factor of life, and that is what is really celebrated here. It's not the weakness of the demise that is valued, it's the strength of the resistance to it, usually through love. The best example of will's outlook on life that he expresses through his songs is 'Take It On The Chin', where he proudly sings: he said life is a gamble and before you throw them dice, if it's more than you can handle please take this advice. He said stand your ground and don't back down, that's the only way to win. and when life throws a punch, son, you've got to take it on the chin.

With the possible exception of the forthcoming number one on my 2006 top list, William Elliott Whitmore is hands-down the best singer/songwriter in activity today.

song of the day:
'Take It On The Chin'