Chore of Enchantment

Musically really enjoyed this, the vocals though just cross the line of being Lou Reed inspired to sounding like a tribute act. Due to that makes me jsut want to listen to a Lou Reed album instead, so won’t make my frequent rotation.

I wanted to like this. Gave it a good few listens. Alt country removes the brassiness and directness of country but for me if you don't go the whole hog and end up at bleak, weird or desperate you get this sort of amiable gentility that is probably good for a Gen X dinner party but makes for a boring solo listen. I didn't dislike it as much as a 2 really but could not give it a 3.

I had never heard of this before. There are some fun tracks on this one, but for my taste, this is a "once in a great while" kind of listen. The style gets a bit old after a while.

low-rent lou reed and I don’t even like lou reed that much to begin with

You know those support acts for the bigger bands that you always think about: "Yeah, this sounds like a real decent opening of the night, I might look them up when I get home," but then never do?

Alt-Country with a Southwestern flair - why does a tremelo pedal sound of the high desert? It just does. Hushed vocals and a generally mellow approach: acoustic guitars, laid back drums, unobtrusive bass and then some 'flourish layers' of electric guitars, synths, and vocal harmonies - then the whole thing is drenched in reverb. Some songs take a harder rock approach with a bit more distortion and some squealing guitars along with a more robust drum part, but their hearts don't seem in it and it fizzles out quickly, returning to more relaxed coffee-shop fare. Somehow I'd never heard of this before despite it being up my alley and only slightly before my era, wierd.

Favorites: Punishing Sun, Shiver,

It's like Bill Callahan and Pavement desperately trying to collaborate on the soundtrack to a David Lynch film. Sounds kinda interesting, right? No, unfortunately it's a boring slog.

Mehh..

Random nonsense with no need for it to be on this list. I quite liked it though - I just don't think it is one of the 1001 best. Prog folk with country influences, but also very artsy. Good, but not great

“What in tarnation” 🤠

Decent album, what sounds like a simple country Americana gradually throws in classical samples, dissonance & distortion.
Something vaguely unsatisfying about the project as a whole, but it shines in individual moments. The amount of outtakes in the 25th anniversary version (it has not been 25 years since 2000!) reveals a band full of ideas & piss & vinegar, though it's possible those ideas were better fleshed out in Giant Sand's offshoot, Calexico.

HL: “(Well) Dusted”, “Satellite”, "Astonished (in Memphis)" "Way to End the Day"
of the bonus tracks I listened to, "Catapult" is pretty cool

September 24, 2023

I had never heard of this album or even the band. I enjoyed this quite a lot, though (though perhaps it's a little long, even if you stop after track 16, which is the end of the original studio version). I quite liked the singer's voice - it suited the music. Will give another listen at some point.