Let it All In

 

Let It All In  a 2020 album by Baltimore band Arbouretum popped up on a memory stick  in the car the other day.

They are on the Thrill Jockey label who write: Arbouretum’s mystic folk-rock collapses a continuum of 20th century music into decidedly classic song structures. English folk, country blues, Americana and 70s psychedelia all serve as touchpoints in their singular and distinctive sound. The Baltimore-based band have perfected the craft of storytelling using the delicate interplay of melodies and prosaic lyrics to tell vivid stories that engage the listener and transport them the way an immersive novel would.

I'm not sure how they initially crossed my radar but they impressed me sufficiently enough to include them in one of my Best of 2020 lists They put me in mind a little bit of a more Bluesy Rose City Band who I was heavily into at that time and also perhaps the latest album from The Hanging Stars.

It seems that they have been on the go since 2002 during which time they have released a plethora of albums, Nothing since Let it All In however which is a bit of a pity.

Arbouretum - How Deep It Goes

Arbouretum -No Sanctuary Blues

Another Best of 2020 List

 Another best of 2020 list.

This time round it is a list of albums that I have -ahem * aquired* These are ten I would have/may have purchased had finances allowed.

This time round they are in alphabetical order as opposed to rank

Arbouretum - Let It All In (Thrill Jockey) - An eclectic mix of folk, blues, Americana and 70’s psychedelia from the Baltimore band

Bob Dylan - Rogh and Rowdy Ways (Columbia) - his 39th studio album and his first since 2012. One I'll definitely get round to buying

Bobbie Gentry - The Delta Sweete(Deluxe Edition)(UMC -Virgin International ) - a deluxe re-issue of  her conceptual second album from 1968 based on modern life in the Deep South

Bruce Springsteen - Letter to You (Columbia) - It's a tough act to follow  Western Stars but the Boss gives it a good go with his old muckers from the E Street Band along for the ride

Eileen Rose - Muscle Shoals (Continantal Song City)  -I've picked up a couple of her Americana albums in charity shops and they are ok. This one steps up a gear and as her website says is her most accomplished record to date

Jonathan Wison - Dixie Blur (Bella Union) - his fourth studio album. - a little bit country, a little bit rock'n'roll (the lineofbestfit)

Kris Drever - Where the World is Thin(Reveal). I've all the previous albums by Orkney folk artist Kris Drever. I wasn't sure at first but a definite grower with Scapa Flow 1919 and Westlin' Winds the stand out tracks

Steve Earle & the Dukes - Ghosts of West Virginia (New West) It's been a while since I've picked up on a new Steve Earle album but this angry and powerful concept album saluting coal mining communities and marking a 2010 explosion that left 29 miners dead is a return to form

Various Artists - Strum & Thrum:The American Jangle Underground 1983-1987(Captured Tracks) The inaugural release in a new Captured Tracks compilation series surveys a generation of college-rock bands that drew sustenance from the chiming guitars of R.E.M. and the Byrds.(Pitchfork)Would definitely have been purchased had I not been late to the party.Not a duff track on it.

Waxahatchee - St Cloud (Merge). Her 5th album and the most Americana to date which of course is no bad thing The Robster's record of the year. High praise indeed

Arbouretum - A Prism in Reverse

Bob Dylan - I Contain Multitudes