How I Loved You

Disturbing gothic country about sexual slavery and torture, for starters. Damn. Themes of nakedness and blood and broken memories. A stark division between the carved-up body and the untouched mind. And, of course, the theme that appeals most strongly to me for some reason: the conflation of religion and sex. Typical Gira, basically, just in folksy country form now. Him masquerading as an angel of light. This lush music envelops you with an array of enchanted sounds, too, such as the classic country lap steel guitar but also more folk instruments like the hammered dulcimer, tambourine, and the glockenspiel. Graveyard country playing while you're forced to lie with the woman you love to hate, the woman you hate to love.