This is music that challenges and provokes. It may require a bit of effort to 'get' Grouper, but it's worth it. And as this record illustrates, even her cast-offs are stunningly good.
Catchy would be the wrong word to use here, but these songs have a staying power as unassuming yet durable as moss on the side of a stone.
Where many of the tracks on The Man Who Died in His Boat could have been as easily thrown away as the debris that floats across the ocean, Grouper's conceptual vision and subtle songwriting makes this an immersive and ethereal addition to her impressive catalog.
When it really hits, as it often does here, the music of Grouper creates a feeling that can only be defined as awe, an uncanny mixture of wonder and dread that nobody does better.
It is apparent from the start that the album is a valuable piece of work in its own right however and its reclaimed origins should not bring any negative preconceptions.
The Man Who Died in His Boat may be a smaller-scale album than either Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill or A I A, but it's no less lovely or moving because of that.
The Man Who Died avoids the stigma of outtakes releases because it’s an ideal entry point into one of the most distinctive, fascinating musicians of our time.
This is an album that follows the drifting of a boat at sea, and discovers that even the most pleasant journeys can end in nothingness.
The Man Who Died in His Boat feels immediately of its time, a period we know to be completely unique. It culls some of the most accessible Grouper material ever, just in fragments.
Her music isn’t quite as inert and emotionally crushing as all this might suggest, but it remains a masterclass in medicated bleakness.
The simplicity of the material, recurring song after song, enables it to settle on a room like perfume; it affects through generalities rather than the specifics of a particular melody or lyric. But by the same token there’s very little to distinguish this album from its counterpart.
On her latest installment of tracks--which were formulated at the time of 2008's Dragging a Dead Dear Up a Hill--multi-instrumentalist Liz Harris brings another collection of ambient-style folk tracks that are opaque, shadowy, and extremely emotive.
Happy Christmas and stuff :)
I got this Grouper album on vinyl awhile ago and I just finally now got around to giving it a listen. I enjoy this one quite a bit. It does feel extremely reminiscent of some of her other records though, so I feel like that takes away from its own identity. Still, songs like Living Room, Towers and Cloud in Places are all great. The chill feeling is very relaxing, and that’s what I’m always happy about with Grouper.
6 - N/A
Vital - 7.5
Cloud in Places ... read more
This is my first Grouper release, and it won't be my last. This soft, distant, blissful folk music obscured under a million layers* is exactly what I didn't know I needed all along. It's a really calming night listen, and the title track makes me feel like I'm slowly ascending to heaven in a sightseeing elevator.
B+
I love how farrah abraham is smiling at me even when I’m about to write the dumbest shit
Liz Harris expands on the sound she started working with on Dragging a Dead Dear, making a record that is versatile and stirring
Oh boy, I fear she’s delivered once again. Btw, idk why but, I just find this album cover to aesthetically be goated as hell it totally fits the moods on this record. So this record was apparently recorded at the same time as Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill, which, so far in this dive, is still probably my favorite album of hers, and it shows, because this definitely has its sonic similarities to that album, although not without its own distinguishing features. It definitely also features ... read more
1 | 6 1:49 | 71 |
2 | Vital 4:14 | 93 |
3 | Cloud in Places 4:05 | 87 |
4 | Being Her Shadow 4:46 | 85 |
5 | Cover the Long Way 4:06 | 86 |
6 | Difference (Voices) 5:48 | 82 |
7 | Vanishing Point 3:32 | 74 |
8 | The Man Who Died in His Boat 5:01 | 88 |
9 | Towers 5:19 | 90 |
10 | STS 6:06 | 84 |
11 | Living Room 2:02 | 95 |
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#90 | / | The Quietus |