Tulip Frenzy

He’s been higher in previous years, but Double Exposure — while not as fine as Circular Sounds — is nonetheless a great album, and a terrific intro to one of America’s finest artists.

Here’s what we said earlier this fall when, at long last, we were able to lay our virtual mitts on these tracks:

“On the long-awaited Double Harmony, which is his tenth record, but more important than that, a record which upon early listens seems at least the equal of his magnificent 2008 release, Circular Sounds, he still has the capacity to surprise.  The title track is in a long line of exquisite Kelley Stoltz rockers; it could have easily been on 2010′s To Dreamers.  But it’s perhaps the only song on the album that doesn’t seem like a departure; throughout, Kelley reveals himself to be more ambitiously setting a bigger sail for a farther port. Go listen to “Still Feel,”   which would seem to contain all of Kelley’s 10-album’s worth of accumulated charm in a single, six-minute goblet.  Aficionados will grok to the considerably better sound quality than has heretofore been served up.  Yes, even when Kelley Stoltz records have have been lower-fi than Tom Thumb they have always been Semper Fi with sonic gorgeousness.  But this sounds as if, though he may be recording at home, someone’s rewired the place.  He is clearly — true anecdote — no longer propping up the mike in his top drawer and leaning over to sing into it; someone — Jack White? — has at least bought him a mike stand.”

This entry was posted on December 8, 2013 at 3:50 pm and is filed under Music with tags "Double Exposure", Kelley Stoltz, The Tulip Frenzy 2013 Top 10 List, Top Ten List 2013. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.