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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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)

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

Good sound, a little long

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

Aggressively mid. Is this guy related to the author, why is this here? I almost want to give it a 1 because its so bland and uninspiring. But its not solely bad, its just not good either. Disappointing. Why is this on the list?

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

I think I’d rather listen to actual sand

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ah yes, quite enjoyable. Certainly something I'll dig further into. Faves: Shiver, Satellite

Yeah, I really dug this - slowcore-adjacent, often dreamy, often cinematic - this project has definitely opened my eyes to alt country! Will be digging into these folks' back catalog. Fave tracks - "(Well) Dusted (For The Millenium)" is phenomenal. "No Reply" and "Satellite" work well together. Really, though, this is more about the album taking you on a little slacker journey than individual tracks...

Total surprise, quirky and raw, but also melodic and relatable.

goes hard

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!

this is good!

Wow! What a beautiful collection of songs !

wow!

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.

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

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

Chore of Enchantment I’m not entirely sure where I land with this. On first listen I really liked it, lots of Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen in the vocals, and a nice low key folk-ish, country-ish, loose, homemade vibe, with some good songs, some interesting twists and turns and nice unexpected instrumentations and sounds - the repeating snatches of Una Furtiva Lagrima, the sitar, strings and wonky keyboard on (Well) Dusted for example, or the little organ stabs, backing vocals and mangled guitar on the Temptation of Egg. However I became slightly less enamoured on repeat listens, the arrangements and off kilter instrumentations can’t hide the dirge-like quality of many of the melodies and tempos, and the slight air of self-conscious whimsicalness and its lengthy run time meant it started to drag a little over the course of the 16 songs I think I would have loved this if I knew about when it came out, it would have been right up my street when I was 21, but it's a slightly different proposition now. I do think it’s an interesting album, and there are some very good songs, but it does lack a bit of dynamic variance over the 16 songs, so I think it might be a bit limited for me in relistenability and sustained interest. I had initially thought that it might be a bit of a rough diamond, but on repeat listens it slipped from a 4 to a 3 I think. ⏳⏳⏳ Playlist submission: Temptation of Egg

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".

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

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

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.

Not bad per se, just really fucking dull...

Tsja, dit is een klein beetje Leonard Cohen zijn stijl, maar dan wel gewoon een stuk minder. Muzikaal gebeurt er wel meer, maar ik vind de stem van de zanger mwah... Het is het net niet zeg maar. Er zitten ook best wat skits op het album, met alleen instrumentale stukken. Best interessant en zeker niet drama, maar het klinkt allemaal gewoon heel erg alsof niemand op dit album echt zin heeft om er op te staan. Alsof iedereen onder schot werd gehouden om dit album op te nemen. Ik heb best wel veel albums die ik hoger geef omdat er pure fun op klinkt. Leonard Cohen klinkt niet alsof hij plezier heeft, hij klinkt alsof hij doodop is en toch nog de kracht weet te vinden om te zeggen wat hij zeggen moet. Dit album klinkt als geen van beiden. Het klinkt een beetje alsof de zanger besloot dat het cool is om ongeinteresseerd te klinken, en dus heel erg zn best doet om vooral zo te klinken. Nee, dit is niet best, dit is slaapverwekkend en belachelijk dat dit een album is dat ik moet horen voor ik doodga. Misschien voordat ik slapen ga? Daar is het namelijk wel best wel geschikt voor. FAVO: Punishing Sun,

This was homework

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.

I am not going to cut any corners here: I cannot for the life of me understand why this album is on this list. While the "music" itself isn't terrible...it lacks energy or range. Its incredibly repetitive and nothing special. The lead singer is frankly terrible. I was completely unfamiliar with this band, and my first response to the second track (the first one isn't really a song so much as half symphony/half noise) is "Oh no it's bad". The lead singer sounds like he's trying to combine the musical styles of Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison...but only the bad traits of each, as if two negatives would make a positive. This album has almost no plays on YouTube Music, my preferred listening platform. This isn't because it's some unheralded gem. It's a bad album. I was starting to give up so decided to skip ahead to their most popular song, "Shiver", and it wasn't any better. I had to cut my losses, I wasn't about to subject myself to two hours of this...and I can't imagine any of this would sound better live than studio produced. Easily the worst thing this project has put in front of me. It's place in this project is an absolute mystery to me. I cannot recommend avoiding this album enough.

Mother of GOD this is awful. They tried way too hard to make this sound half-assed, and the resulting pretentious undertones killed any hope in hell that this could deliver a single shred of value. I am worse off for having listened to this.

Dull, pretentious talk-singing over uninspired musical backing. The dry production on the vocal makes it all the more insufferable.

Off the top of my head, I have a word of advice for Howe Gelb and Giant Sand: you probably shouldn't include the word "chore" anywhere in your album title. You're just asking for people to lob it back at you in reviews if the album doesn't deliver. Hell, it's like you're setting yourself up on a tee and personally handing people the bat. And believe me — I am perfectly willing to swing away. Although, I'll admit up top: this almost wasn't that bad. **Almost**. Instrumentally speaking, there's not too much wrong with this album. It's perfectly passable folk-ish alt. rock adult contemporary whatever. I can imagine if I wasn't paying too close attention to the album, and just taking it off of vibes... Y'know, I wouldn't have rated it too highly, but I still would've come out of it feeling more positive about the whole endeavor than I actually did. Like, I wanna stress that the actual musicians on this thing aren't the problem. No, no, no. The problem with this album is Howe Gelb. If there's any single element that drags nearly every track down into being obnoxiously sleepy and dull, it's him and his "singing." Goodness me, the man's vocals on this album. And, y'know, I get it. I totally get what he was going for here. He's trying some kind of Nick Cave/Leonard Cohen, fried "noir vocals" kind of thing. He's delivering everything in his kind of husked whisper, only barely ever sniffing at actually singing, because, dammit, his lyrics are just **so poetically good and important** that it **deserves** a **serious delivery**. That kind of thing, y'know? I get it. I can see people being into that kind of thing, without any of the sarcastic emphasis I'd put into describing it. And to be 100, I wouldn't say these are the worst vocals I've heard from any album on this list. By technical margins, the likes of Bob Dylan and Neil Young are probably worse. But then, the thing about them is that, even if I have my reservations about singer-songwriters and their "poetry before anything else" style, I can accept that **what** they're saying is more important than how they sound saying it. True, I'll never **understand** what exactly they mean, but I know it has to be (and certainly feels like) **something**. Hell, their voices are certainly unique anyway; you'll never hear another artist who sounds like them. But then we have Howe Gelb. Where, if he **is** saying anything in his flowery-shit lyrics, it certainly isn't enough to overcome his vocal deficiencies. And, y'know, when you pair that together **with** lyrics that sound like they're trying way too hard to be **deep** and **serious** and **meaningful** and **poetic, maaaaaan**... Yeah, no, fukkit, I'll say it: he sounds pretentious. Like a big, pretentious dip. This music plays and I'm supposed to be hearing the deserts of Tucson, Arizona. A city in the middle of nowhere surrounded by sand and sand and sand and maybe a rock but mostly sand. But that's not the image I get in my mind. All **I** end up imagining is what I think Howe Gelb looks like, with a trilby hat and thin-rimmed glasses, and a grey scarf loosely thrown twice around his neck, and a barely grown mustache and facial stubble. I can only imagine him sitting on a high stool with his guitar, leaning so close to the microphone that it looks like he's about to try and fit it in his mouth... And he only barely avoids mumbling out the words, 'coz dammit, he's a **serious artist and a poet**, and **serious artists and poets** delivery their **serious art and poems** in **serious tones of voice**. Give me a fuckin' break. And, y'know, I hate to assume too much about people based on their art. Way back when, I determined I couldn't call the guy from The Gun Club racist just because he chose to use the N-word twice on two songs on FIRE OF LOVE, and believe, in a better world I wouldn't be assuming Howe Gelb was an underground indie hipster dip. But I cannot stress to you the extent to which he's the thing that ruins every song on this album — except, of course, for the ones where he barely features vocally on them. Like, I— I don't wanna be too mean here, 'coz there **are** scattered moments here and there where it... **Almost** works? "No Reply" gets pretty close. And there's some bits of production throughout that are kind of interesting. And again, the band's doing their best. But then Howe Gelb drops down into his whisper again to rattle off some more inane lyrics and gaaaaaaawd. I cannot recall the last time I've wondered this much why an album was placed in this book. Like, what contributions were so gungho about this thing that **this** got placement over a dozen or so other albums that I'd argue are way more worthy of being here. And that's not a prelude to a big "WHERE'S MADVILLAINY?" rant or anything; more, it's just "What was I **supposed** to hear in this? What was supposed to have made this thing worth my time that I **had** to hear it before I died?" Evidently, it couldn't have been much, given that I've heard this thing doesn't even feature in more recent editions. And I am just not disinclined to agree with that removal. Well, that leaves only one thing left to figure out: where exactly at the bottom this thing falls. And, y'know, about a 1. I try to be **incredibly** sparing with those. In over 500 albums, I've only handed out six total — and honestly, I'm not even sure if some of those should even have 1's. 'Coz in my mind, it's something you **really** have to earn. You have to be just so bereft of merit or redeeming value, that there's just no possible justification for listening to it. DEVIL WITHOUT A CAUSE was poser "trailer trash/pimp cowboy" rap metal sung by a rich white boy. HAUT DE GAMME was the soundtrack to commercials for cheap cruises. OUR AIM IS TO SATISFY is the most nothing record I've heard in a long time. PSYCHOCANDY was literally a pain to listen to. And does Giant Sand fall among those ranks? 'Coz again, there **are** moments I dig, even in spite of Howe Gelb's belief that his poetry is just, ugnh, so **big and important**. Am I so cruel as to condemn the entire album just because of that one element? ...Eh, fukkit. Congrats, Giant Sand. You're in some elite company now, y'know — hell, you're only the seventh artist or band to be let into this club. And, sure, maybe someday in the future I'll think back on this review and feel like I was a bit too harsh. I've done as much with CHOCOLATE STARFISH, and that's by far a worse album. But y'know what? I get enjoyment out of CHOCOLATE STARFISH. There's things about that album where I would honestly listen to some of its songs again. That's not the case with your album. There's nothing on here I'd come back to — because, yes, I'll say it since you were begging for it: it is very much a damn chore.

*Snore* of Enchantment

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.

Cool variety. Dark bass. Interesting sound design. Would definitely revisit.

Fantastic! Not a daily listener, but for certain moods and vibes, seems like it’d be undefeated

awesome desert mood

This was a really good album. It’s amazing that this group has been around since 1980 and recorded lots of albums, and I’ve never heard of them.

Super cool variety of songs

Nice discovery

It's a good album. Like early Josh Ritter.

Great indy in the same vein as the Flaming Lips.

loved!

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

Surprisingly, it was what I needed

I like Calexico when they're being Calexico, but I've always ignored Giant Sand. Howe Gelb is an engaging enough singer- and it's got that southwest vibe- good stuff.

"Chore of Enchantment" is the 15th album by American musical group Giant Sand. They're from Tucson, AZ so that name makes sense. Alternative rock and folk rock are the Wiki-listed genres. Yeah, they fit. They had an all-star producer line-up of John Parish, Jim Dickinson and Kevin Salem. The core bandmembers were Howe Gelb (guitar, piano, vocals), John Convertino (drums) and Joey Burns (bass, cello, guitar, backing vocals). There were 19 other musical contributors including Julianna Hatfield on backing vocals. The album has favorable reviews. The first song with vocals is "(Well) Dusted (For the Millennium)." Pounding drums, a bass and Gelb whispering. A very sparse arrangement. A cello. I think of David Berman immediately. "Temptation of Egg" has an electric guitar, an easy beat and Juliana Hatfield on backing vocals. The organ gives this a funky edge. Gelb describes in a roundabout way of why he's attracted to women. In "Wolfy," Gelb's voice is noticeably weary in a bluesy song. "Shiver" has an acoustic guitar melody and folk-country vibe. There's a slide guitar, banjo, mellotron and organ. Nice imagery with shivers and the desert. An operatic opening leads to pounding drums, a rattling noise and loud guitar in "Satellite." The mostly rockin' song on the album and he also mentions Leonard Nimoy and Leonard Cohen in the same sentence. The majority of this album has sparse music either in the folk or bluesy style. I had a tough time enjoying this the first time through but really started to like it more with repeated listening, especially the melody. Gelb's vocals are weary, strained and at low volume. The lyrics are more stream of consciousness and observations than storytelling. I guess an apt motif for desert living imagery. The songs had nice uses of additional instruments like the slide guitar, cello, mellotron and piano. This music really reminded of David Berman and his music with the Silver Jews and Purple Mountain. Overall, I don't think is an album for everyone but if you like folk or David Berman, it's an album to check out. Burns and Convertino went on to form Calexico and they have some interesting music.

Very nice surprise. I loved the lo-fi sound, the understated vocals, and the tinny guitar sounds. Sounded like the guy was barely singing but still had some good melodies and a flexible voice. Definitely a hidden gem I would never have found without this project. They add up!

Fijn, beetje wacky, wel relaxed.

Really dark, mysterious alt-country that sounds a lot like Will Oldham or Vic Chesnutt. I got on its eerie vibe.

Never heard of! Was not prepared to like it but I was surprised. It was a chore of enchantment. Low vibe musings as you go about your day. 4 stars for this.

A bit experimental, but otherwise a pretty decent thing of folk rock. Solid 4 Stars.

Didn’t initially like this one but I enjoyed it after the first few tracks. Listened through twice and both times I started off not liking it and ended up thinking this was an album I might add to my rotation. Really enjoyed the mix of genres and the different instruments that get used. Also really liked the style of the singing. Fav song: Shiver - I also liked Temptation of Egg, Raw, Astonished (in Memphis) and Bottom Line Man Least fav: (Well) Dusted - shame it’s so early in the album because it made me think I wouldn’t like the album.

No conocía al grupo pero oye, disco sólido, aunque demasiado largo

I often love these eclectic albums that throw in everything but the kitchen sink, but my first impression of this one was that it felt a little too hipster/millenial for my taste. The Wikipedia entry with almost no information on it just confirmed my suspicisions that this was likely a flavor of the month debut album in some music magazines and soon forgotten, aside from an additional to the list. But curiosity got the better of me and I looked into who Giant Sand is. So it was fairly perplexing to realize that the lead singer was born in 1956 and had been playing music since the 70s. The band had been together since 1985, making proto-grunge music, and this was the band's 16th album. So intrigued, I tried to give it another chance with open ears and I can definitely say that it grew on me a lot. It's another weird and wonderful album that just took some time to make sense. It's definitely a hidden gem in the indie rock scene.

Hyvin tuotettu, hienot torvet, kiinnostava artisti

Comfy. This one was long, but didn't feel like it.

Resonated with me. Good example why this 1001 albums is good.

8/10

I really enjoyed the last few songs, but it dragged getting there. Some good songs and happy to have tried this album. :)

I feel... conflicted about this one because it has half of the album being so up my lane (moody alt rock with a country influence is winning for me sometimes) I almost thought I had a new favorite, but the other half being straight up country wasn't my favorite thing. Still, even if its all over the place, the songs are great and so is the singing, maybe a forgotten gem I'll have to listen to it more though

This was def interesting, chores of enhancments is one of those albus that carves a unique sound and space for me. Giant sand seems to be able to seamlessly transition between genres and flows giving a sense of music mastery. The album flows well too. I don't see myself revisting this too often but something about it , probably its uniqueness) makes me very glad to have heard it

Cool to see a Thrill Jockey release on this list. I had never listened to Giant Sand before, but based on it's label, I figured it'd be interesting and cool enough and it was. Really enjoyed this, listened to it a couple times.

It felt a little meh at first, but it quickly grew on me. I think I'd like to listen again reading along with the lyrics, it feels like the kind of vibe I might really like. It reminds me a bit of Leonard Cohen.

goomy

it's s subtly great record

Reminded me a bit of Lou Reed at times.

Nice surprise

Pleasant listening.

Think calexico or lambchop.

In my older age, I've grown impatient with most, if not all that surrounds me, music included. The music that used to bring me joy, is boring. It tries too hard, is too show-y or attempts to rebuild and improve the past. Sure, my mental state may sound like 'depression,' but I'm calling it old age. Giant Sand, includes a mild bit of reminiscence from the days I used to listen to Calexico, and I don't think anyone would accuse this band of trying too hard to impress. The slow tempo, and muted vocals and gimickless production make Chore of Enchantment make for an enjoyable album. This is the introverted, standing along the sidelines, house in the woods, music that I've been needing but unwilling to look for. Great find.

Another one I am a little torn on. I had never heard of this and I would say overall it was a pleasant surprise. This feels like a rainy day album to me. Both literally and figuratively to be honest. The tracks that are good are REALLY to my taste but it goes on a little long and there are some stinkers on there too. Would have benefitted greatly from some paring down. If it had been it actually could have been a 5 star contender for me, or at least a 4.5. As is I'm waffling between a 3 and a 4. I'm going to round up to the 4 because I do think this is the perfect album for the right mood, just need to skip a few songs maybe.

From one perspective there isn't much on this album. And in the same time this fascinating album that hit some nice vibe moment in me.

Smog by way of Thrill Jockey Records was not something i knew existed, or that i needed it so much. "Chore of Enchantment" keeps in low gear with its eclecticism, always surprising you when something like a trip hop beat or a sample of an old movie pops in or a mellotron comes in on one of the tracks. my only real complaint is the horrible mouth smacking intro on "Temptation of Egg". alongside this, "Raw" feels less raw and more underbaked, a good idea that could have been a great song but never develops with ornamentation like the other tracks do. otherwise, all the little experimental flourishes feel at home here, introducing itself as a warm friend before walking right out the door. what a delightful variety of reunions.

It took me e a while to figure out how to rate this album. I kept trying a few distracted listen attempts but I was never able to get a handle on the album as a piece until I sat down gave it my full attention. Since I have it as a 4 sided double album in vinyl I'll rate it in that way....side 1 is brilliant singer-songwriter fare that goes from bluesy to folky to even a touch funk. Side 2 starts off in the same and reaches the album's zenith with Shiver a beautiful country rock ballad that swings with beauty and grace. Things go kinda sideways from there rest of side 2 and side 3 are mostly forgettable. Side 4 is better but mostly because we revisit the earlier stronger songs with alternate takes of Dusted and Shiver. Overall a fine album with some beautiful poignant songs if it were a single album it might merit 5, but as is 4 stars

Elements of Sparklehorse to this Doesn’t quite have that magic though but it’s an interesting lo-fi Americana sound that I’m keen to listen to again

👌🏿

4/5

Interessanter Indiesound der gefällt, aber irgendwann auch etwas gar relaxt wirkt.

An alright album, I liked Overture and Way to End the Day.

That was completely unknown to me, not just the album but the band as well. It was absolutely delightful, listened to it three times today.

I like this a lot. Getting Lou Reed vibes tho less dark, Germanic sleaze and more sunny, desert vibes.

A curious mix of Lou Reed, Wilco and Neil Young that I had never heard or even heard of, but ended up enjoying very much. I will be listening to more Giant Sand.

Great!