J. Tillman Year In The Kingdom (Bella Union)
4/5
By: Matt Tomiak
Now that Sufjan Stevens has revealed that his grandiose project to write a concept album about every US state in the union was no more than an elaborate ruse, disenchanted fans of Come On Feel The Illinoise are strongly advised to consider Year In The Kingdom, the sixth album by sometime Fleet Foxes drummer J. Tillman, to obtain their fill of vulnerable wispy requiems and cosmic symphonic arrangements.
The last couple of years have represented something of a purple patch for this kind of music – even if Sufjan himself has been a bit tardy in coming up with new material, we’ve recently witnessed the meteoric rise of the aforementioned Fleet Foxes in addition to Iron & Wine, Bon Iver, Midlake and Grizzly Bear. Even older hands such as The Mountain Goats are enjoying a renaissance - their recent collection The Life Of The World To Come provides a suitable companion piece to Year In The Kingdom- all keeping alive the spirit of ’69 and The Woodstock Nation.
This is the prolific Tillman’s second release of this year, and a truly bewitching collection of songs it is. ‘Crosswinds’ and ‘Though I Have Wronged You’, with their slow-burning seraphic harmonies, are strongly reminiscent of his parent band’s best work, though it’s ‘Age of Man’, featuring just Tillman and a banjo, that’s most sublimely unobtrusive.
Artists in this article: J Tillman
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