Maybe its just the recent passing of Jason Molina that makes this album sound like the ghost of Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co., with that weary, night-worn wistfulness and hope and dread. Matthew Houck's sound is much more dense, much prettier, with much more of that ethereal Bon Iver gossamer insulation, but there's something of the soul there.
On the other hand, Molina's work worked because it was direct and unafraid and exposed; this album, meanwhile, cloaks itself in so many layers as to make itself altogether inaccessible. Consider the seemingly spare introduction to A Charm / A Blade, where the simple sentiment is tripled and reverbed, while guitars, horns, strings and more lurk in the background. It's a rich sound, but when the simplest moments run 7 sounds deep, plus production tricks, that's a lot of weight to move. How can I know myself, how can I find your universal message, when you're so unwilling to give it to me straight, when the sound hides from itself within itself. The result is too much of a muchness, overdone and overblown past any hint of sincerity. Pretty though, if that's what you're in the market for 3/5
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