J. Tillman - "Year in the Kingdom"

J. Tillman--one of the vocal vectors of Fleet Foxes--is a subtle force of musical nature. Much like Sam Beam and other artists who arm themselves primarily with acoustic guitars, soft-spoken tenors, and for some reason, loads of facial hair, Tillman enters the epic arena of "the chill," and propagates seemingly endless series' of songs that all sound the same and yet all sound original at the same time. You know the kinds of songs I'm talking about: the kind that make women swoon because they (the songs) are so passionate and emotional and handsome-sounding; the kind that men listen to while they drink beer and roast marshmallows and campfire hot dogs; the kind music critics initially describe as Dylan-esque, and then later on reprimand themselves for being so foolish. Year in the Kingdom is an album that is filled with such music, and it's really nice to listen to from time to time.

That's really all you can say about it. For as neat as the sounds-the-same-but-is-different phenomenon is, it is also the downfall of the genre: pretty soon we can't tell who is who or who is writing good songs. "Age of Man" is a great tune, but the more it blends into its bookends ("Though I Have Wronged You" and "There is No Good in Me"), it loses its uniqueness with the original context. But hey, whatever. I like the concept of spending a year in a kingdom; it sounds 18th century woodsman-y. And if I can straggle out some visual concept of being at total peace in the woods while birds nest in my beard, then "the chill" has done its job once again.