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| How Long |
From opening track to closing, this work has no difficulty holding the listener's ear; between the fusion of folk and blues sounds and the heartfelt introspection in the lyrics there is so much complexity that each listen feels new, and yet familiar.
Throughout, it feels like a dream or half forgotten memory, like a recollection of a life once lived; it is an introspective work, meditating on a past both difficult and happy, with both joy and mourning for the good times, now gone. While it feels like a description of one life, each song is the ballad of a different person's search for comfort in this mess of a world.
Evoking both moods of searching restlessness and deep comfort, this record may be the most satisfying musical work I've heard this year.
One listen to the title track, and I will be surprised if you are not motivated to hear the rest.
How Long is available on Tuesday, November 5, and can be pre-ordered on Bradley Hathaway's Bandcamp page, and you can see what else he's up to on Facebook.
