Singer/songwriter Joel Thibodeau’s sophomore effort, and first for Sub Pop, expands on the luminous, “new weird Americana” that peppered his 2005 debut. Nothing Is Precious Enough for Us may inadvertently land in the leathery laps of a handful of unsuspecting black metal fans who thought they’d take a chance on some no-name band called Death Vessel, but it’s target audience falls squarely in the Iron & Wine/Devendra Banhart camp, both of whom are not without their dark moments. Thibodeau employs a small army of guest musicians with an even larger arsenal of instruments, and it’s a testament to all involved that the arrangements never overpower the lyrics, which are sung in the same, impossibly high and clear falsetto that fueled Stay Close. Often slapped with the freak folk tag that gets applied too liberally to anyone who doesn’t mumble, Thibodeau writes songs that are both hopeful, disparaging, and yes, a little weird. His enigmatic lyrics, pastoral West coast melodies, and blissfully androgynous voice rule the roost here — standout cuts like “Block My Eye,” “Jitterakadie,” and “Obadiah in Oblivion” may confound, but they’re impossibly catchy — and even when he explores the world through a minor key (“Exploding View,” “Widening”) it’s through Technicolor sunglasses. – James Christopher Monger
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