Pitchfork 7.8

“The stubbornly indefinable collective crafts its most purely song-oriented collection to date, guiding its sound toward the organic, refracted Americana of acts like Calexico or Pinetop Seven.”

Listening to “Ardent Fevers” one is treated to a beautiful array of lush compositions that capture the listener with memorable choruses and well thought-out orchestration. Stellar tracks include the opening “Drink to Sher”, which recalls Beck from his Sea Change period or Tim Buckly. “Greybreathes” is an unforgettable piece of music that has you humming the chorus for hours. Just like most of the music of Tanakh the focal point of this cut is the wonderful vocal style of Jesse Poe. “Like I Used To”, a heart-wrenching song based around fragile guitar and lap steel, is moody and easy to loose yourself in. “Still Trying to Find You Home” starts off as Leonard Cohen-esque folk dirge but builds momentum until it takes on the feel of Neil Young’s Crazy Horse and comes close to “freak-out” thanks to some pretty serious soloing on guitar. The band then switches to the far lighter “Restless Hands”, which recalls sixties era British folk-pop.

Release date:  April 04, 2006

Label: Alien8 Recordings

Recorded, mixed and produced in August 2004 at Sound of Music, Richmond, VA. Mastered in Montreal, Canada