Music Review
The artwork on the album was provided by Matthew Swanson and illustrator Robbi Behr. See? Captions can be educational!
Bombadil
“Tarpits and Canyonlands”
Bombadil’s third album “Tarpits and Canyonlands” is a solid collection of charmingly nuanced indie folk songs.
A vaguely seasonal piano steers the catchy call and response of “Sad Birthday,” and “Honeymoon” starts bearing an uncanny resemblance to a Fionn Regan song but gradually develops into something deliciously rambling and oddly cathartic. Both songs are definite highlights but the album’s true peak arrives eight tracks after the latter with the Spanish-tinged frontier tune “Malaysia.”
Bombabdil shares much stylistic ground with the Avett Brothers (though their palate seems broader by a shade or three) and their penchant for unexpected vocal proclamations recalls every indie folk outfit of the last dozen years but the Durham band’s knack for crafting minimalist songs with the illusion of depth and texture is what makes “Tarpits” a genuinely unique and enjoyable album.
Expect big things from Bombadil.
4/5
Note: July 11, 7 p.m., if you like what you’re hearing, be sure to attend the Tarpits Listening Extravaganza, in Durham, NC, at the Golden Belt.
Nothing educational here, just a lil' ol' caption.
Lost In the Trees
“All Alone In An Empty House”
“All Alone In An Empty House,” the second album by Chapel Hills’ Lost In the Trees, is a mixed bag of forlorn ballads. The album’s opener and title track is a weak approximation of Damion Rice, an unfortunate misstep, but LITT quickly rectifies with the endearingly over the top “Walk Around the Woods.”
The remainder of “All Alone” operates at this pace with a ratio of one hit to every over-melancholic miss. Orchestral flourishes abound and interspersed throughout the album are cheesy instrumentals that would sound right at home on a “Legend Of Zelda” video game.
“All Alone In An Empty House” isn’t great but it has precious moments of resonance.
