speed of dark

Brad Davis and David Hickox show the Broken Letters have a lighter side

"Almost blues," announces the headline of The Broken Letters' MySpace page. Almost? This band is actually pretty damn bluesy in a Southern gothic, garage-band kind of way. The way the guitar lines mimic the sound of dripping raindrops makes you wish for gloomy fall days instead of the bright sun of summer, but you could also get into this with a bottle of gin on a hot night.

"Feathers may fall, but that don't mean it's raining angels."

This great line is the beginning of "Another Morning." David Hickox writes the songs and lyrics, and Brad Davis backs him on drums and other instruments. All the songs were recorded live in the studio, a fact you can tell by the hollow "feel" of the room and how all vocals, guitars, and drums interact with each other instead of just existing in the same time frame. No polished studio tinkering of track layers here--this album has that unmistakable vibrancy that only live music contains and which I find much more exciting than slick perfection.

"Licht" is one of my favorites of an overall exceptionally compelling album. "Left you waiting on the line while the call came in," mourns Hickox, his funereal delivery filling the lines with regret for the damage done.

"Let an angel go to burning and ran from the light
Left you burning there waiting, when with water I finally replied
There was nothing I could do to save you from the fire."

Another standout is "Every Hollow Plow" which includes a mellowing organ line, a reminder that Hickox and Davis' influences include the Southern Baptist Church. "Thunder Ode," "Avian Blues," and "In Blood," a deathbed lament, are right up there too.

I seem to be on some kind of folk or New Weird America kick lately, and The Broken Letters are fitting right in there next to Fleet Foxes and J. Tillman. I highly recommend this album. The great thing is you can buy it directly from The Broken Letters themselves, and for vinyl-lovers, their previous album is available as an LP.

From Sing the Burning Alphabet (2008):
Licht
Another Morning

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Show Schedule:
The Broken Letters are just winding up a tour of the central U.S. and will be announcing new dates for August and September soon. I hope they're coming west.