Search - Paul Brill :: Halve the Light

Discovering the Hidden Form

mon_cul | Washington, DC | 03/16/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Few artists in the alt-country landscape engage with their musical roots with the depth, subtlety, earnestness and craft of Paul Brill. In fact, to pigeonhole Halve the Light into the alt-country category doesn't even seem to do the album justice: here we see none of the overly self-conscious irony of a Todd Snider or the questionable obliqueness of a Jeff Black. One thinks, instead, of standout, almost accidental moments that occur in certain careers, moments like Yo La Tengo's Fakebook or Dylan's Nashville Skyline, moments that find artists reconciled with--though not free of--their demons, and comfortable with their mastery of their underlying traditions. From the tears-in-the-beer, steel-pedal twang of Maybelline to the fiddle-on-fire squaredance of Caroline, Brill, backed by an ensemble that would be the envy of any first-rate jug-band from Appalachia, seamlessly weaves the contemporary--and often urban--themes of his intricately textured lyrical fabric into the tapestry of venerable heartland forms with panache. Halve the Light treats us to something much more rarefied and special than the rococo, all-surface-no-depth, postmodern pastiche of so much of what we hear under the alt-country rubric. Brill's blend of form and content is as natural to behold as the ideal shape emerging from the marble block as the master, working the chisel with his careful hands, patiently discovers it."

Euphemism of an existentialist metaphorical allegory

Michael E F Black | San Francisco, CA United States | 02/23/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Former Envelope playboy and lead singer Paul Brill has just released his second solo recording entitled "Halve the Light". This body of work showcases Brill's lyrical prowess, extraordinary musicianship, and a penchant for religious inconography. Brill's thorough comprehension of the human condition manifests itself in tracks such as 'Caroline' and 'Start it Again'. Once overwrought and self indulgent, Brill has found solace in contemplating the existentialist metaphor that is a euphemism for perpetual suffering. As an old friend Cindy once said, "Thanks for the Music!""