Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 08/19/2008
Singer/songwriter
Joel Thibodeau's sophomore effort, and first for
Sub Pop, expands on the luminous, "new weird Americana" that peppered his 2005 debut.
Nothing Is Precious Enough for Us may inadvertently land in the leathery laps of a handful of unsuspecting
black metal fans who thought they'd take a chance on some no-name band called
Death Vessel, but it's target audience falls squarely in the
Iron & Wine/
Devendra Banhart camp, both of whom are not without their dark moments.
Thibodeau employs a small army of guest musicians with an even larger arsenal of instruments, and it's a testament to all involved that the arrangements never overpower the lyrics, which are sung in the same, impossibly high and clear falsetto that fueled
Stay Close. Often slapped with the
freak folk tag that gets applied too liberally to anyone who doesn't mumble,
Thibodeau writes songs that are both hopeful, disparaging, and yes, a little weird. His enigmatic lyrics, pastoral West coast melodies, and blissfully androgynous voice rule the roost here -- standout cuts like
"Block My Eye," "Jitterakadie," and
"Obadiah in Oblivion" may confound, but they're impossibly catchy -- and even when he explores the world through a minor key (
"Exploding View," "Widening") it's through Technicolor sunglasses.
~James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
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