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Wow. Really blown away by how good this record is. Wasn't even anticipating it at all, had forgotten it was out actually until a friend mentioned it. Felt completely indifferent though decided to check out the Guardian stream and was pleasantly surprised. So went out and bought the double LP.
First off, the packaging is lush as hell. I'm not a huge fan of the cover art but once you open out that gatefold and pull out the sleeves (and poetry booklet) . . . man, it is a feast. I feel like the double LP format works PERFECTLY for this album. A couple of tracks per side really allows you to absorb them better on initial listens as opposed to it all running together. This helps overcome the samey feel of some of the songs; what you start to appreciate is the nuances and subtleties of the music.
The production is luscious, dude. This is the gentlest Thurston record I've ever heard. No distortion or noise, barely any dissonance at all. As someone noted it sometimes veers off into spacey psych-folk territory and it works really well! Thurston's vocal delivery and recording sound great. I like how the acoustic guitar is really at the forefront with the other instruments as a shimmering, drifting background. . . no propulsive drumming or obligatory soloing. I feel as if this is the record Thurston perhaps wanted to make with Trees Outside the Academy.
So, yeh, great success. Totally blown me away, all the more so because I was fully expecting to be completely ambivalent towards it. Hell, tempted to jump on a cheap flight to London for the gig on Tuesday.
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