4. Sam Amidon – I See the Sign / Pretty Fair Damsel
A great collection of traditional folk songs. Amidon’s vocals create a heartfelt intimacy, evoking a self-reflection that supplements the lyrics. Lazily, I will also include the song example as my fourth favorite song. I’ve never heard any other version, but I love the story that is portrayed. Although I do not have concrete “textual evidence” I understand the soldier riding by, to be the damsel’s soldier, and the following verses are filled with sweet ironies as the two comfortably exchange familiar banter as they have been separated for seven-long years. Amidon sings the alternating verses with subtlety, never making the shifts too distinct or obvious, but provides the musical arrangements to dictate a change in voice.
3. Tallest Man on Earth – The Wild Hunt
Another folky addition to the list, the singer/songwriter has a distinct voice and has garnered many comparisons to Dylan. His lyrics are not political or define generations by any means, but his stream of consciousness verses creates a dream-like quality that allows the listener to relax and bring his/her own meaning to the songs.
3. Sufjan Stevens – All Delighted People
Sufjan surprised many by releasing an “EP” this fall, only to tell us that he would be releasing an LP weeks later. The eponymous track of the hour long extended-play provides a good preview to the rest of the songs in both All Delighted People and The Age of Adz. The music is a combination of his electronic elements found on Enjoy Your Rabbit, with the haunting and verbose arrangements that were scattered among Illinois. Lyrically, Sufjan creates a dream, almost nightmarish-Dantian journey as his speaker tries to find meaning, truth carrying certain elements of the Christian-spiritual realm, only to be warped into his own vision of truth-seeking.
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