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Album Details

• Artist: Jason Anderson
• Album: The Wreath
• Label: K Records
• Year of Release: 2005
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: rbidet on 2005-04-29

If you're a glutton for the painful introspection and woeful melodies of the likes of Pedro the Lion or Sebadoh you might be interested to know that Jason Anderson (who also records as Wolf Colonel) has a bunch of songs like that, too. They're big and sad, delicately arranged and unafraid to bear their souls over a stark background.

But The Wreath too often sounds like a genre exercise- a sincere one for sure, but a dreary and ultimately unremarkable one. Which is a shame because it really is a pretty record and Anderson has a very likable, strong voice. Some of the songs do stand out, though. "If I'm Waiting" and "Our Winter" could be Rufus Wainwright and Guided By Voices, respectively, with the sadness channeled into memorable tunes. Both are almost comically melancholy with a self-pitying streak a mile wide, even if it's not reflected exactly in the lyrics. The former song is especially nice with a nice tumbling piano part during the chorus.

"My Balancing Act" begins with dreamy, pulsing piano chords and Anderson's weary singing but like the majority of The Wreath, it tries to wring too much from too little. It certainly evokes the disconnected ennui Anderson seems to suffer from, but doesn't do enough with it. As the record winds down, we also encounter the numbing seven minutes of the funereal "I Was Wrong", a crushing blow just when the record needed a boost the most. I admire Anderson's obvious zeal for performing, but I'll pass on The Wreath.

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