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TINY VOICES
(Anti-/Epitaph)
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In nine albums, Joe Henry has traversed the American musical landscape like a gypsy, moving from country to folk to ambient grooves, finally hinting at jazz on his last album, Scar. Following through on his free-jazz leanings, Henry has delivered his most ambitious, if not most confounding, CD of his career with Tiny Voices. Enlisting avant-garde clarinetist Don Byron and trumpeter Ron Miles, Henry navigates through a set of what can best be described as sonic lounge music. The entire album sounds as if all the instruments, amps, and microphones were wrapped in a thin veil of gauze. Palpable melodies are scarce, but in fairness, Henry’s goal on the record is not accessibility. He is more interested in texture and tone. Fine songs do emerge upon repeated listening, however. The quirky Tin Pan Alley tune "Loves You Madly" stands out with its loose low-fi percussion, as does the sluggishly sexy torch song, "Animal Skin." Throughout, Henry delivers cryptic narratives on such breezy topics as death, love, and regret, dropping lyric nuggets like "I mistook your heart for thunder" with a shrug. Tiny Voices may not be radio-ready, but Henry’s bold mixture of after-hours mood and avant-jazz leanings marks him as one of the more impressive and adventurous singer/songwriters currently working that turf.
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