Track 1 I Love You Honeybear
Just a beautiful way to start off the album with a bang. Beautiful melody present on this track and Tillman's voice really shines through on here. The accentuation of the strings and the whole atmosphere put off by this opener is fantastic. The really abstract lyrics on here are just a sample of the complexity that is to come
9/10
Track 2 Chateau Lobby #4
Gonna start off by saying that the horns on this thing is orgasmic. The singing and tone that Tillman uses here is great. Honestly a sad song when you dig into the lyrics, but it sounds so damn catchy and rewarding that you can't help but literally enjoy this mans pain
9/10
Track 3 True Affection
Lyrically this doesn't hit as hard for me personally but damn does the chorus really elevate this whole thing a ton. Once again beautiful instrumentals that blend well with his voice. Another tale of love that still definitely has a depressing and sad tone to it
8/10
Track 4 The Night Josh Tillman Came To Our Appt
Damn this track got a bit disturbing at the end and the whole thing delt with the theme of love in a much more direct and dark tone then previously before. Once again an interesting piece of work that has a wonderful melody and warm feeling to it even though the lyrics kind of go the opposite way of that
9/10
Track 5 When You're Smiling and Astride Me
I really love the subtlety to the guitar riff that came in at just the right time. I actually love the hell out of this track and that is mostly for the reason that it is kind of a small break to the whole album with not a whole lot of lyrics but some amazing vocalizing going on. One of my go to songs this year for my smoking sessions
9.5/10
Track 6 Nothing Good Ever Happens at the Goddamn Thirsty Crow
A very interesting song that was written by Tillman while he was in a very bad state which he himself says he is disgusted with. Really amazing song that explores the darker side of him while once again being sonically wonderful with an upbeat feel to it that has hints of darkness with the minor sinister sounding strings that come in and out randomly
9/10
Track 7 Strange Encounter
A gorgeous song and a really great representation of the folk music genre. The whole concept of him bringing the woman home with alcohol poisoning while also finding Tillman realizing that he is actually truly a good person in his life. The vocalizing and very slight rock and country vibe to this makes this a top notch song
9/10
Track 8 The Ideal Husband
Definitely the rockiest song on the whole album with a much more hardcore feel to as compared to the rest of the album. It starts off a little iffy for me tbh, but the ending really kicks the whole track into over gear. Another song dealing with his problems of too much d**, alcohol, and s**. This kind of deals with him before getting married and at the stage where he is getting ready to. A really introspective and I imagine difficult to write song
8.5/10
Track 9 Bored in the U.S.A
Damn did this track just take a big ol sh** on America. I'm American and I'm not mad at this at all because this is basically the best representation of America and the mindset of many of our citizens. I like the play on words and the allusion to Springsteen's “Born in the U.S.A”. I appreciate that this was the most minimal track on the album because it allowed the message to shine through a lot more
9/10
Track 10 Holy sh**
Honestly disregarding the song title this is one of the best songs I have heard in the last several years from the Folk music genre. It has such a simple feel to it, but it is bombarded with multiple complex lyrics and concepts within it. Even more interesting is the fact that Tillman wrote this on his wedding. The melody is basically perfect and the whole song itself is a present day masterpiece in this dude's opinion
10/10
Track 11 I Went To The Store One Day
A beautiful way to end the album with an almost tribute type feel to his wife. Deals with love and the possibility of loss. Just love his vocals on here as they kind of just fade away at times and you can feel the legitimate emotions behind this song
9/10
So the final verdict on here is that I absolutely love this album and completely feel that this is one of the best Folk albums to come out over the span of the last couple of years. First off, the instrumentals and production on here is just outstanding. It has a very minimal feel to it while still employing just the right amount of guitar and string work to make it have a very balanced feel to it. The lyrics and concept of this whole project was amazing to me because of how stinking complex the lyrics and ideas could get on here
This is my own theory and feelings as to the the whole atomsphere of this project. I personally felt that even with all the complexity and abstractness that the lyrics represented, Tillman was basically trying to say that love needs to be kept simple and disregard all the other craziness that follows it
DAMN AMAZING PROJECT
9/10