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Review Summary: No wheels were reinvented in the making of this record Some albums are difficult to pin down, but No Ordinary Crown isn’t one of them. Do you like the proto-grunge sound of Neil Young’s louder works? Or the rustic melancholy of Jason Molina’s various projects (Songs: Ohia, Magnolia Electric Co, etc.)? Or the downcast but powerful singing of another Jason (Isbell) backed by his grooving 400 Unit? If any of those references sound appetizing, you’re almost certainly in this LP’s target audience. Veteran singer-songwriter Will Johnson’s latest combines Young-ish guitar crunch (see the heavy instrumental “Alta (Warped Kite)”) with delicate melancholia (a la closer “Of Passengers and Plight”) demonstrating the influences taken from the artist’s one-time collaboration with Molina, all the while featuring dominant vocals over the more barn-burning musical backdrops (like “The Conductor Calls”) in a manner reminiscent of Isbell. The highlights here, including the beautiful “In Granada” and the mournful “Tempest Time Again” stand as some of my favorite alt-country pieces in a while. All this is to say that, while No Ordinary Crown likely won’t feel like new and different, it’s excellent nonetheless, melding well-worn influences into something at once gritty and emotive. If this kind of thing is your kind of thing, don’t skip it.
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Album Rating: 4.0
Short boi review for a great but overlooked new release.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
There was a 50% chance I'd write a long enough 'mini review' tomorrow that I'd have put something up for this.
Album is maybe his best? He has something in common with Califone...like a more standard folk/country version of that band?
Interesting you mention Isbell, I do hear that.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Beat ya to the punch! Would love to read your thoughts if you do write something up, though.
I'm not very familiar with his previous output (a few songs here and there), but I've been quite impressed with this one.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
'Beat ya to the punch! Would love to read your thoughts if you do write something up, though.'
As always:
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/doofy/reviews/
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
And yeah, he sounds a lot like Isbell vocally on some the rock-ier tracks (The Conductor Calls and Swine, in particular), at least to my ears.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
'I'm not very familiar with his previous output (a few songs here and there), but I've been quite impressed with this one.'
Been revisiting his established 'career high' before this album, 2004's 'Vultures Await', and that's excellent - plus then you have the 2009 collab album with Kozelek which was my intro to him, and I think a decent album.
I'd say overall this has impressed me the most of what I've heard from him though.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Nice, good recs there - may have to check one or both!
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
This was a very pleasant listen, glad I checked this out!
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
SunnyV - just put up a real short mini review on my AOTY account after listen seven…I mostly compared it to this year’s Califone as an angle. They are two of the best alt country albums this year for me - and yeah, Tim Rutili of that band is the closest vocal match, I forgot before and that was bugging me ;)
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Digging this ahrd so far. Super chill and relaxing atmosphere on this one.
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Definitely some Ryan Adams vibes coming through on Tempest Time Again
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