deathvesselIts hard to decide whether the title of "Nothing is Precious Enough for Us" is a intended as a challenge, a defensive employment of irony or a simple statement of intent. The combination of high falsetto vocals, fingerpicked acoustic guitars, banjos, rhythms slapped on thighs and lyrics that storm past the boundaries of whimsical to come to rest in a field of meaningless nonsense, do open this disc up to charges of 'preciousness' beyond the call of duty, even for music that fits alongside the likes of Devandra Bernhart and Joanna Newsom. Thankfully proceedings are rescued by the warmth of the instrumentation and the arrival in 'Bruno's Torso' of some unexpectedly full-bodied electric guitars. The grind and gristle of some judiciously-battered guitar, amplified by hot vacuum tubes, adds an essential savoriness to the sweet tones of Joel Thibodeau's vocals. Closer listening reveals that (gasp) synthesizers have been tastefully layered alongside the acoustic instruments. This music is informed by 60s 'folk revival' and country acts, but it doesn't attempt to recreate the sounds of an earlier era. The host of musicians and truckload of instruments involved in "Nothing is Precious Enough for Us" never becomes unwieldy, Musicianship is uniformly both understated and the music looks tastefully arranged. This disc never strays from sounding like a bunch of people playing and singing together in a room. Those who can tolerate a degree of 'preciousness' and a lyrical approach that pays more attention to the sound of a word than its meaning will find "Nothing is Precious Enough for Us" to be a warm and appealing listen.
:: Death Vessel/Nothing is Precious Enough for Us - Sub Pop/cargo.
