4 out of 5

Label: Sounds Familyre

Produced by: David Eugene Edwards

A dour bit of David Eugene Edwards introspection that helps strip his particular doomy folk back to a sparser sound, and closer to the gospel-infused soul of his compositions.

I have two conflicting feelings regarding this album: that it’s one of the strongest things DEE recorded up to this point – peeling back the rock affectations of 16HP and guaranteeing no distraction from an emotional core – and that despite its relative lushness of layered vocals and choice instrumentations, the album so constantly hangs out in a mid-range that none of it ends up sticking out in my mind; that these are not songs that get stuck in my head, or that I crave.

However: in other instances where I’d hold the latter judgment against a release to a greater extent, the first take overrules it, as I’m never not surprised at how dense and expressive this thing is when I put it on. Like, in memory, the album is rather monotone, and there is some element of distancing here that effects that, and that I think I might contribute to the production. But in practice, it’s quite lively, managing 16HP-like stomp, but keeping the pace and tone folksy, as on opener The Good Hand; or rendering an already sad song even moreso, with the cover of Ain’t No Sunshine (although the saddest take on that still goes to The Fire Show); or flexing his style to embrace something of a waltz (Arrow Head), or singer-songwriter style balladry (My Russia) – there’s a lot going on, and different sounds are scattered across all of the tracks, giving the album an ebb and flow of mood.

Crafted mostly as a solo affair, though, with Edwards mixing and producing, it’s only really when tracks push things with some volume that the tunes can soar without a dedicated listen – when DEE moves out of his lower register; when all the vocal layers harmonize and the drum kicks in as more than just a backbeat. Those moments are fewer, and throw into contrast a relative flatness with the rest of the production, that requires a headphones listen to help bring out the definition.

That’s really my only theory on why this isn’t the 16HP or Woven Hand album for which I reach, since it’s wholly accessible – melody and some pop hooks balance out the doomed gospel vibe – and filled front-to-back with solid, varied, and affecting songs.