Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.David Karsten Daniels is another singer-songwriter tapping into the dark vein of sinister Americana mined by the likes of Bonnie "Prince" Billy, but with an added layer of discomfiting dread furnished by his interest in both avant-garde and antique brass-band music. The former is discernible in the slow, minimalist swell of shimmering strings that takes two minutes to become "Minnows", and in the mantra-like repetition of the two-line lyric over a slowly-expanding, violin drone-based arrangement that makes "The Dream before the Ring that Woke Me" recall Gavin Bryars' "Jesus's Blood Never Failed Me Yet". The horns, meanwhile, bring the mood of a New Orleans funeral to "We Go Right On" and "Scripts", both about stagnant relationships of one sort or another. The pace throughout the album is painfully slow, crippled with apprehension, but it allows Daniels to effect the blend of casual melancholy and casual malice in tracks such as "American Pastime" and "Beast". An intriguing debut.
DOWNLOAD THIS: "The Dream before the Ring that Woke Me", "We Go Right On", "American Pastime", "Minnows"
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments