Fast Rise & Fall of the South
Rarely anymore does an indie band drop a new release that can considered unreservedly unique in both tone and delivery, but this record obliges on both counts. The Chapel Hill, N.C. foursome's fourth release is a swift departure from the more vociferous tendencies of earlier albums, but remains saturated in three-part harmonies that can be as lavish as the Beach Boys one song, as intimate as Simon & Garfunkel the next. With a Shins-like knack of sounding effortless and complex at the same time, the 13 songs are woven together by graceful acoustic backing, an entwined piano and an ensemble of banjo, trumpet and flute. But the lead voice of Bill Taylor never allows the arrangements to stray from the mood (save for two or three instances of restrained indulgence), and from the waltzy piano on "Harness and Wheel" to the trippy feedback that closes "Ol Mountainsides," the Kingsbury Manx have one of the year's great records--and a sound to call their own.--Scott Holter