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January 11th, 2006 by Alex Ingersoll (Permalink)
Label: Birdwar Year: 2005 Add Comments |
There is a foreboding and unfamiliar room that you have never explored. You often hear the wisps of noise from behind its door but you have yet to turn the handle and look inside. After passing by its bleak door time after time, your curiosity takes over and you manage to find your way into the room’s shadows. A melancholic line from an acoustic guitar is all you initially hear from the darkness as it slowly moves forwards and backwards throughout the air. Moments later, the meditative and haunting vocals of David Thomas Broughton delicately spill over his guitar as you are lured into his intriguingly austere dwelling. Sliding melodies, layered crooning, clicking drum machines, delicate loops, and faint whirring drip down the walls while brooding lyrics evoke a tinge of sexuality and violence. “I wouldn’t take her to an execution, I wouldn’t take her to a live sex show, I wouldn’t piss or shit on her, because I love her so,” he croons.
The Complete Guide to Insufficiency is the exquisite debut album from this neo-folk singer-songwriter as well as the first release on the Birdwar label. Broughton’s shadowy niche is constructed in part by the lo-fi atmosphere in which it was recorded: five songs in one forty-minute take in the Wrangthorn Church in Leeds, England, capturing an uncanny and mysterious ambiance he strives to emphasize in his live shows. This often provides the listener a wealth of serendipitous moments such as the seemingly unplanned yet perfectly placed church bells at the end of “Unmarked Grave.” These fortuitous moments reverberate throughout the church and only augment Broughton’s stripped-down, “do-it yourself” sound. Listeners can audibly envison him reaching to set loops and operate a drum machine while hunching over his microphone. Far from sounding amateur, this process yields a strong sense of personal and spatial exploration. One cannot help but to imagine what he could achieve in a studio if he so chooses to use one.
With his debut behind him, one can only expect great things from Broughton. He is in the company of Bill Callahan (Smog), Will Oldham (Bonnie “Prince” Billy), and Jason Molina (Songs: Ohia/ Magnolia Electric Co.) with his lyrical complexity but does not rely upon his lyrics to keep his songs afloat. His mesmeric vocals woven in a warm mix of imperfect yet exceptionally personal sonic structures is a very rare compositional treat. To approach David Thomas Broughton as a typical product of the overblown freak-folk movement would be a serious mistake. His vision for folk is incredibly inward, fusing the blues, folk, a loop pedal, and his lyrics of affection, apathy, and somatic imagery to create a distinctive and sincere aural experience.
–Alex Ingersoll
Links:
Birdwar – http://www.birdwar.com/
David Thomas Broughton - http://www.myspace.com/davidthomasbroughton
- http://www.plugresearch.com/davidthomas.html
Upcoming Live Dates:
- Jan. 21, 2006 12:30 PM The Klondyke Bowls Club Manchester, UK
- Jan. 21, 2006 8:00 PM Brudenell Social Club Leeds, UK
- Feb. 4, 2006 8:00 PM Rain or Shine Club Manchester, UK
- Feb. 11, 2006 8:00 PM Red Deer Club Manchester, UK
