Ben Chasny has been doing this a long time. That he's still managing to find new sounds from the indie folk form says much about his tenacity, or reveals a real stubborn streak in the Six Organs of Admittance musician. Time is Glass, the new one on Drag City, finds Ben wringing moments of hope and yearning out of his guitar and voice in a familiar, but still affecting fashion.
"Theophany Song" and "The Mission", for example, are lovely, lilting pieces which suggest an awareness of time's inexorable march forward. If it's not resignation we hear in Chasny's voice, it's sort of a begrudging acceptance of how things are. Far more affecting is "Slip Away", where the guitar seems more forward in the mix, and Ben's voice aches a bit where appropriate. Stronger still are pieces in the second half of the album. Here, on "Summer's Last Rays", there's almost a desperate race ahead, the plucked strings pushing the melody forward, while on "Spinning in a River", the chords crash and then ebb, only to crash again. The effect is striking, though some might prefer numbers here like "My Familiar" which offer pleasures less jarring and more inviting.
Time is Glass by Six Organs of Admittance is out on Friday via Drag City.
[Photo: Kami Chasny]