Chore of Enchantment

The chore of listening to this one tone record was the hardest thing I've had to endure this week. You must bear in mind that this week I've finalised my divorce, crashed my car and lost two of my children in a freak boomerang accident. By George what a bit of shit on a fork.

All CHORE No ENCHANTMENT

Well, they got the word "chore" right. These kind of Robbie Robertson-Lou Reed slacker mumble-vocals are most definitely not only outside my wheelhouse but an immediate turn-off. The music isn't anything so adventurous that would alone make it objectionable - it's nice! - but. but. but. Maybe/likely if this album weren't led by a singing tree sloth I'd have given it more of a chance. For I'm sure at least the 50th time in 600 albums: singers ruin everything. Hard pass. 3/10 1 star

It's on my playlist "Alt niche male type beat.mp3" and yes it is a red flag

I loved this. Absolutely loved it. It's cinematic and evocative and full of little twists and turns around every corner

Appropriately enough for album 1001, a long action of continuous shocks. The sleepiness of the record punctuated by surprises is somewhat close to death. The record's shiny, overtured, takes a minute to get to the point. The lyrics are calibrated to just my preference for the abstract. That's all very desert-sky, but there's just as much grounding in American musical traditions.

Reluctant 3, the good stuff is really great the bad is fucking shit

This one starts off with two absolutely great tracks, "(Well)-Dusted" and "Punishing Sun", subdued and subtle, but with stellar chord changes and a few gems on a lyrical standpoint. A little bit later, the sequence of songs "Shiver" (with its wink to "Walk On The Wild Side"), heartrending ballad "Dirty From The Rain" and atmospheric country-folk cut "Astonished (In Memphis)" is pretty convincing as well. Howe Gelb doesn't have a "spectacular" voice, but what he does with his lower timber serves those compositions right, even with some (endearing) frailties here and there on a technical standpoint. Unfortunately, a lot of the songs on the album, conveying the same exact sort of melancholic "confessional" mode, are somewhat "interchangeable". Moody and well-crafted for sure. But quite unobtrusive and generic as well. With its slow-yet-raucous distorted guitars, Nick-Cave-and-Lou-Reed-indebted "Satellite" attempts to wake the listener up in the middle of side two. Yet if that composition is decent, it's not exciting enough to elicit more than a passing interest in the song. Having this album popping on the app today reminded me I should also dig into Calexico's discography, since they're also from Tucson (and Burns and Convertino once played with Gelb). Giant Sand will have to wait until I reach that point. And I'm afraid that by the time I do so, there won't be any "room" left for them in my list. 3/5 for the purposes of this ranking, which translates to an 8/10 grade for more general purposes. Number of albums left to review: approximately 300 (I've temporarily lost count here) Number of albums I'll include in my own list: half so far, approximately Number of albums I *might*  include: a quarter, approximately. Number of albums I'll never include: another quarter (including this one, many others are more important to me)

Mmm. Kind of like Grandaddy but without the depth of tunes. Straight out of early noughties college rock. Not unpleasant, but really a 2.5. Rounded down for length.

I'm not at all familiar with Giant Sand but I very much enjoyed this album. Had lots of Lou Reed feelings and just as many Bill Callahan feelings. Glad to be introduced.

Magical. Takes you on a beautiful, melancholic journey. Unique.

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.

Nr. 118/1001 Overture NR (Well) Dusted 3/5 Punishing Sun 3/5 X-tra Wide 3/5 1972 NR Temptation of Egg 3/5 Raw 3/5 Wolfy 2/5 Shiver 4/5 Dirty from the Rain 3/5 Astonished 2/5 No Reply 3/5 Satellite 2/5 Bottom Line Man 3/5 Way to End the Day 2/5 Shrine 3/5 Average: 2,79 At times pretty boring.

You don’t need to hear this before you die, but Thrill Jockey is a rad record label, so 3 stars.

The concept is there. But my heavens these vocals are so bad they just kill the whole album. The lyrics are also... just very meh. Sometimes people try way too hard to make lyrics that seem philosophical or deep but this time, they just fall flat. It's a bunch of pseudo-intellectual drivel.

Ok I have no clue who these guys are, but this album was awesome. Perfect example of why I keep doing this album thing every day. The song with the most Spotify streams on here only has ~480K, and only one other song is over 100K streams, but this is just great. I never would have come across this otherwise, and I'd have missed out. I don't really know how to describe it, it's got this alt-rock/country/folk sound. The singer is really understated but he packs a real punch (NME said "raw but tender empathy in songs full of unexpected departures", I like it). I guess this came right after their former guitarist and the singer's friend died, so the emotion is really coming from somewhere personal. You get this kind of grimy alt-rock at times ("Temptation of Egg", "Satellite"), deep emotion at times ("Raw", "Way to End the Day"), and then these beautiful little folk songs too ("Shiver", "Bottom Line Man"). There's a few weak spots and it's a bit long (60 minutes), but this is really solid overall. I think sometimes I tend to rate a bit too much based on artist prestige and critical acclaim (it's hard not to), but this is about as obscure as you get on this list and I'm into it. I don't expect this to have high ratings on here, but I think it's great (even on a second listen the next day). Favorite song: Raw Other: (Well) Dusted, Punishing Sun, Temptation of Egg, Wolfy, Shiver, Dirty from the Rain, Astonished (in Memphis), No Reply, Bottom Line Man, Way to End the Day 6/18/24

Good sound, a little long

4. I enjoyed it. Loved the different genres that were sprinkled into it and was overall a chill listen

Chore of Enchantment is the 16th album by the American alternative rock band Giant Sand. This folksy, alternative rock album was highly rated by critics. It contains emotionally raw and tender songs about empathy for your fellow human. I thought Chore of Enchantment was a beautifully moving album with music and themes that fit together nicely. It was a great easy-listening album that I recommend for anyone looking for background music.

The talk singing works in small doses. This was not a small dose. Best track: Shiver

This album thinks it's way cooler than it is. Vocals ruin it for me.

I appreciated some of it, I always like to listen to acts that do things a bit differently, go against the grain. There's some interesting lyricism here, but overall this isn't my kind of "weird".

I went to the 1001 list website to see what they claim makes this list-worthy, but guess what? It looks like it’s being pulled, which is not surprising. On the plus side, he/they change it up once in a while, throwing in a heavy guitar, a funky back-beat, a female vocalist (sometimes all in one song, as in Temptation of Egg or Shiver). On the minus side, Howe Gelb’s dreary, spoken words are a limiting factor and when he’s unsupported, like on "Punishing Sun” or “Dirty from the Rain” you have to ask yourself, “Why am I listening to this?” Dylan or Cohen could get away with weak vocals but the songwriting caught your attention. Gelb, less so.

the album would have been better if the guy actually sang, but most of the album he did the “speak singing” thing, which i am not a fan of. it comes across as gimmicky and makes it seem as if the singer can’t really sing very well. not for me.

This was fine. Didn’t really grab me. I didn’t see the shifting tones of the record as a plus. I also listened to this while playing DOOM (2016) which is an incredible mismatch.

So, because a British journal says you have raw but tender empathy then you can get on this list? I won’t deny there were pieces I enjoyed, the vocals were interesting and reminded me of some others similar. Some quirky songs, but this didn’t need to be on the list.

They really knew what they were doing when they named this album Chore didn't they?? Some tracks sounded a bit spooky and some sounded a bit saucy but mostly I would compare this listening to the sensation of garlic skin getting stuck to your finger when you're peeling garlic cloves and it's just limp and light and almost not there but just enough there to IRK the fuck out of you!!! Well annoying and angering hahaha! I join the ranks I think from other reviews in saying that I don't understand why I must listen to this before I die. Well now I have, what a stupid time-waster.

Never before have I listened to an album and got that the feeling that I'm being stalked. The entire thing sounds like he's whispering angsty poetry written by a heartbroken sixth grader into your ear as you take the back roads home at night. There were a couple of songs that I liked, but I guess when you throw 30 songs at the wall something is going to stick. If you look at their larger discography they seem content to release quantity not quality.

*Snore* of Enchantment

A very interesting listen! Lots of musical twists and turns that were still very enjoyable to the ears. Super creative and unique!

Nice. I am definitely going to check out some more of this band. Really liked it.

There’s a lot of songs that sound the same here, but the style, aesthetic, and neat little interludes of the album is enough to keep it interesting for me. It’s the little details that make this for me. This one is really tight and solid, even if it may blend together and drag in the second half.

wow!

Surprisingly, it was what I needed

I've never heard of them before. They were really good!

loved!

Wow! What a beautiful collection of songs !

this is good!

Wow did this one sneak up on me. Never heard of it, pulled it up and saw 1h57 minutes, let out a small moan of despair (mind you I had a 2h15 min double album the day before). Overture gives no hint of what’s ahead. First listen first song, I’m not getting it. Despair starting to turn to dread. Let’s head to Wikipedia… hey there! This isn't a two hour album! Spotify added 14 bonus tracks. Ok ok unclench that jaw. We’ve gotten to track four now, and things are starting to change up a bit. Maybe this album is more interesting than I realized? I’m going to pay more attention. Holy cow, I think I’ve fallen in love. I’ll get to the bonus tracks in a little while, First I’m gonna go back and listen to the original album again!

goes hard

Jáááá, það tók mig nokkur lög að finna gírinn en svo er þetta bara drullufín plata.

early morning rainy sleepy on the train vibes…really liked this one. unique sound. stand up bass meow meow!!

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.

They sound like a cross between PJ Harvey and Lou Reed but this is just the starting point. They wander around to a number of strange places stylistically and it really works. Now the two hour version on Spotify is too much but the original album is right sized.

Giant Sand offers up not so much of a chore but a genuinely consistent record that stays well within its lane of roots indebted country rock. While intimidating in song output (sixteen in its standard and another fourteen bonus tracks), there is plenty of gems to uncover while wading through the album. Enchanting? Well, it sure is. Favorites: (Well) Dusted, Punishing Sun, X-Tra Wide, Raw, Wolfy, Shiver, Dirty From the Rain, Astonished (in Memphis), Satellite, Rock Opera, Hard on Things, Punishing Sun (in Tucson), Music Arcade, Catapult, Dilemma.

This album was pretty good, and brand new to me. Who is Giant Sand? The musical style and variety made the album a fun listen. I wasn't always as thrilled with vocal stylings. I don't know exactly how to describe it...maybe excessive breathiness from time to time?? I don't know...something just rubbed me the wrong way on some tracks.

This is one of those albums that begs to be listened to again for all the stuff I missed the first time today. Although it was new to me, it has a great and familiar sound that I appreciated. A good discovery for me.

Good lo-fi alt.country album. Didn't realize it had been re-released with a new cover. Also didn't realise that was a Juliana Hatfield backing vocal. Not heard it for years to it was nice to re-listen.

American Guitar and a couple of piano songs, atmospheric. Really liked this album at the time, but it did not strike me as a stand-out Giant Sand album - they just made a lot of strong albums over the years. Listening to it again, I still like it a lot, Well Dusted for the Millennium and Satellite are the 5-star songs. Score: 8/10 (close to 5*)

I really did like this. I wish I listened to the album at a cottage..not at the gym lol

etwas merkwürdig, fühlt sich etwas wie Nirvana an mit einem höheren Anspruch und gelegentlichen Reisen in Oper und Jazz. Ein bisschen wie black country new road. Beim ersten höheren gab es keine Sichtlichen highlights, aber auch keine lowlights. Ich kann mir vorstellen das häufiger zu höheren.

Giant sand has all the makings of becoming one of my favorite bands, I need to spend more time with them.

Hasn't GS had a hard enough time already without being dropped from this esteemed list? Isn't their particular brand of weirdness – as well as related and adjacent styles of oddity – so underappreciated in the broader culture as to merit ongoing conclusion? It's easy to understand why GS is an acquired taste – lack of tunefulness, refusal to rock, the lyrical obliqueness ("You can get Leonard Nimoy to play ther part of Leonard Cohen"), persistent melancholia, intermittent eerieness, the found-sound feel and overall irresolution. But when it works, the vibe-y results feel just spot on, "Punishing Sun" and "Shiver" and "X-tra Wide" being most prominent examples. Much that floats and drifts is lovely and even compelling (see "Raw" and "Shrine" and many moments within other cuts), with backing-vocal flourishes adding depth and shade. Still, for all the likable off-beatness and evocative off-kilteredness, one's not convinced this is the most worthy record. Rounding up for the original and awesome atmospherics and influence (thinking of early Wilco, Luna, Bill Callahan and peers-in-underratedness Yo La Tengo), but mostly because they – or Howe – are deserving of every last bit they can get.

Nice chill album. I haven't listened to them before. Very good for relaxing, but far from boring.

Intriguing!

Well, what a nice surprise. It’s been months since this list last surprised me. A full 90’s alternative beautiful and creative sound. This was really great even if too long

First listen Alt Rock Standouts: Punishing Sun, Raw, Shiver, Dirty From The Rain, Astonished (In Memphis), No Reply, Bottom Line Man, Way to End The Day 3.5

As I started this, I wasn't too impressed. It seemed okay, but I wasn't digging the singing style. But the more I listened, the more I really got into this. By the end I was leaning toward three stars, then I listened to it again. Then I listened to it a third time. I just love it. Some really beautiful songs. I will listen to this more, and check out their other material as well. 4 stars.

Good surprise.

A really nostalgic album, with a strong dusty feel on it. Bit of bloat though.

12/20/23. First time hearing Giant Sand, and what a nice, relaxing album. Each song flowed into each other really well, and the vocals are Lou Reed like. Would definitely recommend this one and listen again.

4.5 + Howe Gelb and Giant Sand are of a handful of opening bands I've seen that ended up completely upstaging the headlining act. I caught them when they were touring with PJ Harvey in 2000 at the Olympia in Paris. Gelb slayed on guitar - he was shredding so hard his hat fell off his head. After the show, I went to the merch table and paid, I think, $5 for this very CD and I've loved it ever since. "Temptation of Egg" might contain my favorite lyrics in music ("I wake up with something in my eye / I pull out one of your lashes / I like the way you stuck in my eye / I like the way my eye stashes"). There are many amazing songs on here delivered with an uncannily casual sense of subtle poignancy. See also: "Shiver", "Astonished (In Memphis)", "Satellite."

now normally i'm not the kind of guy who listens to country, but this ain't your normal country album. usually i grow tired and miserable over the more mainstream genres of country but this is a real... true country vibe that somehow works. i feel like i'm in a trailer park smoking a cigarette. a generally solid and lengthy collection of bassy, throaty vocals, classy sampling goodness, lamentful atmospheres and really artistic compositions.

Quirky and a little different. Particularly like X-Tra Wide and Shiver

What an amazing listen. Never heard of these guys before this project. Sign me up! I think this was great. 4/5

Reminds me a lot of Morphine. They have some interesting songs and lyrics. I like the delivery of the singer, will definitely pay a revisit.

Actually really enjoyed this one. Never heard of this group, and it sort of reminds me of a mix of Tom Waits, Lou Reed, and maybe some other acts as well. But you blend those styles up with some rock music and even some cowboy-country kind of music, you get a pretty great album out of it. It's funny how some of these lesser-known, British albums end up being more appealing to me than some of the albums from the big artists on here like Tom Waits, David Bowie, whoever else. This one is really cool. Favorite tracks: Well Dusted, X-tra Wide, Temptation of Egg, Astonished, Shrine. Album art: For some reason the cover on this site is a shot of two people holding a marriage license? It doesn't even look real, and it's not that on wikipedia or apple music. Instead, the cover I'm seeing is a stitching of two photos of a blue room, with some lights strung up and a drumset in the next room. Really, really cool cover, the colors are excellent, just a great photography piece and the effect of the two images overlapping is really nice. Love this one. 4/5

Enjoyed the instrumentation and vibe of this album.

Thought it was interesting. Reminded me of lou reed and the kind vibey chill talk music

I enjoyed this. Never heard of them before. Gives me a modern Lou Reed kind of feel. I'd like to check out some other albums.

I'm a little worried by the Wikipedia page on this that it might be my least favorite genre on this list, "NME-core", but I'll give it a chance. Sounds like it might be a bit weirder than the run-of-the-mill brit-pop alt-rock sound at least. Oh never mind this is a lot better than that first impression. I am much more on board with weird americana/alt-country! Vocals are reminding me a lot of Yo La Tengo around this time. I feel like "X-tra Wide" could have come right off a YLT record, title and all. I see a lot of reviews on here hating on this vocal style, I don't mind it all so far! Yea, I liked this a lot. Very different than a lot of the other stuff on this list. Solid 4 stars.

I don't know what's wrong with me. I just like folk music I guess, something about this is so alluring to me. Sounds like a lesser version of Bill Calahan which I loved. 7/10

I liked it more than expected. Had not heard it before. Where was I in 2000? Ah, grad school. What else did I miss?

New band for me. Enjoyable.

Has a good groove and some variety. For the Lou Reed haters I guess I could see why they wouldn’t like it but hey I like Lou Reed.

I really liked this one. It was a blend of a lot of cool artists. There were definitely some Ben Harper guitar tones at times, a little bit of Phish vibes, and - for some reason - the singer's voice reminded me of the guy from Cake. It was a fun exercise is trying to figure out who they sound like and then realizing that they created a pretty unique sound. I'll definitely come back to this one.

a fun grab bag of late 90's sounds.

Good but too long

As the album was still getting on its feet I was feeling as though this would be on the more dry side of alt-country; one that can be hard to sludge through without some endurance. However, the album picked up some speed a little bit in and stayed rather good throughout, with a lot of Neil Young influence to keep you entertained, and a surprise or two in the form of noisy tracks to keep you on your toes. As much from the era, its far too bloated, and I could see this being repetitive for some, as it does keep a general tone that can feel flat all in a row, but if you let the album take you places, its really good at being something rather pretty, and I'd even argue has some of that melancholic feel that Leonard Cohen presents, although its not as captivating lyrically as Cohen. Overall, a solid record that I'm glad I spent time listening to.

Strano ma l'ho ascoltato tutto

Surprisingly good. Starting to get some nice stuff now

Who ARE these guys?!!? Why have I never heard this before. There are a lot of elements involved with this recording that I enjoy, each song has a hook that pulls me in, I'm really enjoying this. 4 stars for surprise delight!

This was surprising and enjoyable. His voice kept reminding me of late Lou Reed.

Soothing

gut!!!!!!!

Very easy to like, not fantastic but solid.

Unique sound

Had a cool quirky vibe kinda like Eel

When I saw that this was a 60 minute long rock album, I dreaded it. However, I was pleasantly surprised. This kind of reminded me of Pete Yorn's musicforthemorningafter, which came out a year later. I do think this album is too long...it felt somewhat repetitive. I think it could have been better had it been more concise. I'd consider listening to this again. More of a 3.5 but I'll round up.

A very mellow album for the summer

Yeah this is my sort of thing I think

Original and well crafted

Als je graag Pixies, Nirvana en Smashing Pumpkins zou luisteren maar je kunt absoluut niet tegen herrie dan is dit een redelijk alternatief met een experimenteel randje en een aardige stoot blues en country erbij. Dat een track als 'Satellite' wel wat naar herrie neigt moet je maar even op de koop toe nemen. Ook voor mensen die Nick Cave iets te depressief vinden of Bob Dylan te verschrikkelijk vinden gorgelen. Ik luister deze op maandag en daar past het wel bij. Mompelrock met fluisterinvloeden. Dermate hipsterig dat het zo uit 2019 zou kunnen komen. Het slaat eigenlijk nergens op, maar ik hou hier wel van. Ik ga hem misschien nog wel vaker aanzetten. Een snobkeuze (met gemiddeld ongeveer 40k streams per nummer), maar ik vermaak me ermee. Ideale muziek om een shot heroïne bij te zetten, denk ik. Tof geheel. Hoge 4.

interesting chill album - rock was unique. Would like to listen more.

I liked most of this one #insight

I had never heard of this. I like it a lot but I don't understand why it's on this list

Totally missed this band and album. On one listen I will certainly be listening more. Ticks a lot of boxes for what I like, particularly idiosyncratic vocals.

Notable tracks: (Well) Dusted, X-Tra Wide, Temptation of Egg, Satellite

No idea what to expect for this album. Sand makes me think of Sandstorm so could be electronic for all I know. Well it isn't DaRude. It is more songwriter alternative? It has kind of an interesting feel to it that I can't quite pinpoint yet. Some songs seem to push into the southern style but not particularly country. The lyrics seem to have a bit of cleverness and/or sarcasm to them and I'd liked to have more time to go through them. Some songs had kind of a poetry feel too, and it just sounds like a guy just making what he wants to make for the fun of it, and not really caring about anything commercial or radio. I like the vibe of this album. It feels like something I could make if I was going to put together an album. Favorite track "No reply" 3.5/5

Definitely unique. Nothing stuck with me long term, but it's something different for sure.