Palace Music

Arise Therefore (Drag City)
by Clarendon Lavorich

In a completely nonchalant and morose way, Palace Music (pretty much completely Will Oldham) is a Neil Young Hawks and Doves-era meandering river of quietude. With extremely minimal sounds in endlessly repeating cycles, Arise Therefore mutters and croons in a wonderfully/horribly honest and endearing way. Wonderfully because it’s not often a singer conveys sincerity so effectively; terribly because what he conveys is an abyss of emotions. At times, his use of a drum machine gets slightly annoying, but his use of a piano to punctuate and expound the lyrics is absolutely perfect. It’ll be silent for minutes on end, and then a line like “Our friends all within reach/The sun highlights the lack in each,” gently sound a discord and puts the entire song into focus. Arise Therefore is an exercise in not playing, a superbly spacious album.