Liz Durrett: Outside Our Gates
I'm taking a break today from Uncle T's adventures at Austin City Limits so I can talk about this wonderful album I have been listening to.
Outside Our Gates, released in early September, is Liz Durrett's third full-length album. Her papery-dry whisper of a singing voice has been compared to Cat Power's, but there all resemblance ends because Durrett's style is very different, reflecting the Elephant 6 influence of her home state of Georgia (members of Olivia Tremor Control contribute to some songs). She has a facility for matching fascinating melodies with simple words that become profound in context.
Durrett's previous work has been described as ‘threadbare sonic tapestry’, but this album definitely has threads. Hearing the first track, "Wake To Believe," with its chamber-music strings, you think, this is a folk album; but the very next song, "Wild As Them" proves you wrong. Suddenly there are drums and horns! The next song includes piano and skritchy, backwards, electronic sounds. The next, the insanely gorgeous "We Build Bridges," brings in a violin and cello (by Amanda Kapousouz).
In fact, possibly the most striking thing about this album, besides Durrett's impressive song-writing, is that each song has been assembled and crafted as if it is the most important track on the album. I'm sure that is often the goal in making an album, but here the care is brightly evident and the touch is always perfect, each element weighed. If the song is full with only guitar and Liz's voice, like "Not Running," that's all it has. If it blossoms with the addition of strings, horns, drums, and cymbals, like one of my favorites "You Live Alone," it has all that to just the right degree. No matter how good the trick is, it is used only where it works best and is not repeated.
On "We Build Bridges" her uncle Vic Chestnutt harmonizes with Durrett perfectly while the strings gently swell and fade like lapping wavelets.
All right
Oh when the tide brings us back
How sweet it is.
The album follows an arc from simple acoustic through more complex musical additions, then back to focus again on just Durrett's voice and words. The last song, "The Sea A Dream," is achingly lovely, an ending that also promises a beginning, so peaceful, both a benediction and a lullaby. Even the unobtrusive guitar fades away, leaving soothing layer on layer of Durrett's voice.
Soaring will be our limbs and leaves
The wind's a dream laid out for you.
On installment #133 of Contrast Podcast, we were asked to contribute the best closing song of an album. I heard this, and my search was done. Even more than an album closer, I told my husband if it were possible for me to wish for one certain song to play just before I died, this would be it.
I looked into Durrett's two earlier albums, and although she is clearly more adventurous on Outside Our Gates, the two older works, The Mezzanine (2006) and Husk (2005) contain high-quality tracks as well, showing that Durrett's talent is no fluke.
From Outside Our Gates (2008):
Wake To Believe
All Of Them All
From The Mezzanine (2006):
In the Throes
MySpace | Website | Label: The Warm Supercomputer
Buy at Amazon.com, iTunes, and eMusic
4 comments:
Cool. I think I was going to tell you about Liz before, but never got around to it. I actually saw her in Athens, GA at a little summer music festival in 2006 when a friend of mine drove over there from Atlanta. She did an amazing mini set at dusk with her band that included her uncle Vic Chesnut (playing some back-woods synthesizer contracption). She was great. I'll have to send you my little review/recollection. I did get "The Mezzanine" soon thereafter. I'll have to check out her new stuff. She is pretty good.
Uncle T
Love All of Them All - the repeating electronica loop ads great effect.
Love this album, and I agree - this is no fluke! All three albums are incredible, with Outside Our Gates being more matured overall, but still there is a bit of her earlier phenomenal work shining through this well produced gem.
Well done!
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article, but it sounds interesting…
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