Search - Brian Harnetty :: Silent City

Not of this time

Michael A. Albert | nj | 10/14/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album is haunting.



Three Bonnie "Prince" Billy songs here, each of them striking, stark, and wholly different from his recent output. For fans of Will Oldham, these alone are worth the price.



The Oldham songs stand out, obviously. But they're not out of place. Voices and instruments from another time accent Harnetty's instrumentals. I'm reminded somewhat of The Books, from the collage of rustic instrumentation and use of old records and found sounds (evidently Harnetty spent countless hours digging through a library of old Appalachian recordings for this album.)



The collision/collage of sometimes sparse instrumentals with antique sound recordings, punctuated by Oldham's vocalizations, evoke ghosts of an otherworldly realm of music.



4 stars instead of 5 because I doubt I'll play this very often going forward, but it is a fascinating document nonetheless."