Year in the Kingdom

We Say...

Review by Barry Walters

If there was any doubt that Josh Tillman has singing and songwriting chops beyond what's suggested by his drumming role in Fleet Foxes, then his second solo album of 2009 should dissolve it. As he did on his five previous discs, the prolific Seattle-based musician plays most of the instruments. But this one features his forlorn cry so prominently that he seems to be crooning just inches away from your ear. His breath is clearly audible, and you can feel the force of his fingers against the guitar strings. It's an emphatically physical approach that's appropriate for a somber-but-stunning album given over to themes of life and death.

"I'd give back my singing voice for one more day, one more day in the kingdom," Tillman confesses at the title track's end. He's singing here, and throughout, about mortality, but the ache in his voice matters more than the clarity of his lyrical message. Although he employs the traditional acoustic instrumentation of folk music, his emphasis of soul over literal sense gives his musings a spiritual heft. He paints in musical shades that vary from the dark gothic monochrome of his banjo-led "Age of Man" to the shimmering light suggested by a dulcimer flickering through "Crosswinds." The generally stark, but sometimes grand results are likely to tug at the heartstrings of Will Oldham fans, as well as anyone who's ever curled up with the early 4AD catalog: This is not straightforward Americana. Instead, Tillman navigates a lonely space that's simultaneously mystical and down to earth — even as he's contemplating an unavoidable fate that lies six feet below it.