American Bardo
Baggage Room, 2020
8/10
Though they’ve only been releasing music together since 2018, Eric Anders and Mark O’Blitz have been collaborating since 2003, and this concept album inspired by George Saunders’ novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, might be their best work to date.
“Matterbloomlight” starts the listen with a very mature version of indie-folk where warm vocals guide a hazy opener, and “Bury Me’ continues the sophistication with a bare approach that takes on a darker quality as very graceful strings enter the climate.
At the halfway point, “Holding Will” displays incredible vocal work alongside a sublime setting, while “Haunting Abraham” is a more percussively strong tune with breezy Americana melodies. “And One Love”, one of the album’s best, then brings spirited electric guitar to a rootsy, blues, pensive rocker.
Near the end, “Bardo Coins” finds a dreamy place to reside amid cautious instrumentation, and “Won’t Live It Down” exits the listen and finds itself comfortably in timeless folk-rock territory.
A very thoughtful record that’s also quite poetic, this 3rd album from Eric Anders and Mark O’Bitz showcases their respective songwriting talents well, with a very careful and memorable execution of gorgeous melancholy.
Travels well with: Will Stewart- County Seat; Rufus Wainwright- Unfollow The Rules