William Elliott Whitmore - Kilonova - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Known for the sparse, haunting qualities of his mostly solo recordings of what he refers to as 'Roots Folk Music,' in which his husky voice is often accompanied by little more than a banjo or acoustic guitar, William Elliott Whitmore sought to add some new pitches to his bullpen for his new ANTI Radium Death. 'I purposefully went into it wanting to make a little bit of a departure, sonically, using an electric guitar a little bit more and adding more instrumentation, more full band type stuff,' says Whitmore. 'I wanted to switch it up a little bit and plug in to see what that felt like. I was reading a lot about the so called 'radium girls' of the early 1900's, these assembly lines of women painting watch dials with radium to make them glow in the dark,' he says, detailing how the workers would lick the tips of their paintbrushes to get them pointy while dipping them repeatedly into the chemical substance before it was known to be dangerous. 'So, in my mind 'radium death' came to represent something that you're told is good for you maybe by a higher power but really is killing you. It represents those lies that are told, and how we can protect ourselves against them.' The songs assembled, while not a concept album, present a cohesive look into those recurring Whitmore themes of respect, protection, sustenance and survival. Album Tracks 1. Healing to Do 2. Civilizations 3. Trouble in Your Heart 4. A Thousand Deaths 5. Go on Home 6. Don't Strike Me Down 7. Can't Go Back 8. South Lee County Brew 9. Have Mercy 10. Ain't Gone Yet

Album Tracks 1. Second Hand Smoke 2. Distant Lovers 3. 17 + Forever 4. Angela 5. In the Light 6. Lovely 7. Never Really Mine 8. Leave Her 9. Wait for Me 10. Afterlife

After crucial stints in Silver Jews and Lambchop, William Tyler emergedwith a string of inquisitive albums that paired his country rearing andclassical enthusiasm with his ardor for experimentation and fieldrecordings. His productive enclave of instrumental music has not onlyushered in new sounds, but also critical new voices. No other soloAmerican guitarist this century has impacted that fecund scene quitelike him. And on the brilliant, bracing Time Indefinite, Tyler's first soloalbum in five years, he steps at last into the widening gyre he helpedcreate. The guitar is the starting point for an album that will make youreconsider not only Tyler but also the possibilities of an entire field. Avortex of noise and harmony, ghosts and dreams, anguish and hope, itis not just a great guitar record. It is a stunning record by a greatguitarist, a masterpiece of our collectively anxious time.In early 2020, as the world teetered at the edge of unrests stillunimagined, Tyler left LA for Nashville, where he'd lived most of his life.Most of his gear and all of his records stayed, awaiting a presumedrapid return. It, of course, wasn't. So as Tyler dealt with the depression,nerves, and questions of those endlessly tense times, he beganrecording ideas with his phone and a cassette deck, resigning himself tothe distortion inherent in those devices. Tyler was talking with KieranHebden about making a record together, and some of these bits felt liketest cases. As that collaboration crept in other directions Tyler magpiedother sounds. He asked longtime friend, producer Jake Davis, to helpstitch them together, opting to embrace the hiss and wobble and tounintentionally make a record that reflected those times andthese-uneasy, damaged, honest.A seesaw of struggle and survival defines these songs, a map ofanguish and belief and the trails that link them. InchThis is a mental illnessrecord,I