by
Jim White
- Record Label: V2 / Luaka Bop
- Release Date: Jun 8, 2004
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Terms like "alt.country" are far too prosaic to contain music which might equally be called post-bebop, spook-folk or ghoulish horror soundtrack.
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Entertainment WeeklyWhite conjures lost souls drifting through a mythical nation of pawnshops and cheap motels, his voice a sensual whisper over their rattling bones. [9 Jul 2004, p.89]
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There's also the fact that you won't hear another record like it this year, possibly ever-- all the comparisons that can be made to Tom Waits, Lambchop, Grandaddy and Vic Chesnutt will only tell a small part of the story.
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UncutWith its smoothing of rough edges, it's likely this record will split opinion, but there's much to admire for those--like its creator--willing to burrow. [May 2004, p.107]
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White seems to have turned a corner, taking his songs to places they haven't gone before.
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The thick veil of gloss that co-producers Joe Henry and Tucker Martine use to coat each of the 11 hypnotic tracks is entirely transparent, resulting in a glass-bottom boat ride that's both cathartic and uncomfortably voyeuristic.
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MojoA big wet dream of loss and isolation, sex and the search for grace. [May 2004, p.92]
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His mumbled burr recalls that half-awake state where reality melts, a strain of Southern Gothic best listened to at 3am with a half-empty bottle of bourbon and all the lights on.
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With the handicap of not having entered a studio until his forties, White still creates work that maintains a deft wisdom even in its worst choices.
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FilterA pretty excellent, ramblin' effort. [#16, p.99]
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A retreat from overt tale-telling makes these songs less immediate and localized but potentially more personal, both for Jim and his listeners, as he strips away the surreality and specificity and renders his murky ruminations more universally resonant.
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Quite simply, Drill a Hole is White's distinctive, Panhandle-troubadour vocals performed over the jazzy, late-night tones of a Joe Henry-assembled band.
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A diverse and creative offering.
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This is a slower, mellower side of the singer-songwriter, and it suits his moody ruminations.
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Rolling StoneWhite covers much the same ground... but it's a testament to his mastery of Southern-gothic atmosphere that his banjo, melodica and pedal steel musings on Jesus and haunted love never fail to raise goose bumps. [24 Jun 2004, p.177]
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Under The RadarIsn't intense enough to demand listener attention, isn't wandering enough to be hypnotic, and isn't melodic enough to be immediate. [#7]
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Q MagazineHe's never that far from plunging towards obviousness. [Jun 2004, p.108]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 5 out of 5
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Mixed: 0 out of 5
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Negative: 0 out of 5
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NickDAug 23, 2004
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PaulFAug 18, 2004
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NeilGJun 30, 2004