Monday, June 17, 2013

Gary Murray & LN - Minor Lives


I've been a fan of Gary Murray's work for years now, dating back to LN's Novel album (2001).  At that time, if I was having a stressful day, I would turn the lights off, close my eyes, listen to that album, and probably end up falling asleep.  It was referred to as a "sleepytime album" for good reason.

I still love that album, although I think I love each LN album released since then just a little more.  This is the first album Murray has released since 2009's excellent Downstream Angels (also listed as Gary Murray & LN).  And it just kind of dropped out of nowhere on June 7.  Needless to say, I bought it as soon as I learned of its existence, and have been enjoying it ever since.

It covers the same basic territory as a lot of past LN albums.  Slow, dark, folksy songs, built around a simple melody, and eventually filled out with a vast array of atmospherics.  And, as always, Murray nails it.  It's a beautifully dark album, each listening revealing something new to love.

If he keeps releasing albums this good, I don't really mind the 4 year wait so much.

Favorite track: "Minor Lives"
Rating: 5/5

Tuesday, June 04, 2013

Stressful Day Playlist

Your old pal Dusty was asked to contribute a playlist over at Steelhanded.  Since I had just gotten through a particularly stressful day, I decided to make a "get through a stressful situation" playlist.  I'm pretty happy with how it came out.

If you get a chance, check it out here.  And check out Brandon's other posts on that site.  Some really great stuff.