While I can truly say I have enjoyed Town and Country albums for years,I hadn't had such an incredible appreciation and awe for them until Ifinally had a chance to see them live. Friday night at the ZeitgeistGallery in Cambridge, the quartet performed a number of songs fromthis, their fourth release. While it's musically apparent that thisChicago-based drum-less multi-insturmentalist acoustic instrumentquartet have a serious history of improvisation, every song, every noteis cold-calculated and executed with the skillfullness of professionalperfection. I'm still marvelling at the amount of instruments whichcould actually fit in the tiny room. Through the night, the fourmusicians shifted around between acoustic guitars, double basses (yes,there was one song where two were played), bass clarinet, celeste,harmonium, cornet, and most impressively, a stunning set of handchimes. I couldn't keep my eyes off these things, as they had to berearranged between each song depending on which notes were used. Thesound was phenomenal, dreamlike, intoxicating and swirling and makes mevisualize the albums so much more than ever. To magically accent theevening, there was brief snowstorm outside which fit the second song onthe album, "I'm Appealing" almost perfectly, as the song is filled witha harp-like effect by rhythmically strumming what could possibly be32nd notes on two acoustic guitars. You can buy the album and get thesame effect but I highly recommend both doing that and going to see theshow if they're anywhere near you. Tour dates are posted at thrilljockey.com. Sure, it's a bit mathematical, a bit clinical, a bit music schooly, but it's really a stunning listen.samples:
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