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It’s one of the richest and most satisfying of his storied career.
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North Start Deserter, however, is in a class of its own.
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On North Star Deserter, the musicians working with Vic Chesnutt serve as collaborators rather than simple accompanists, and they've truly brought out the best in one another; this is powerful, adventurous music that's as challenging as it is beautiful, and ranks with Chesnutt's finest work to date.
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North Star Deserter is serious music, and commands a certain amount of attention.
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The surging crescendos and improv freedom give his wordy songs a refreshing dynamic that could gain the 41-year-old folk troubadour an entirely new audience.
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On his 11th album, this musician's musician once again finds a coterie of like minds--Fugazi's Guy Picciotto, members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor--to help turn chronic disquiet into disturbingly palpable dread-folk.
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The WireThe [guest] musicians have the good sense to know when to let Chesnutt's dry-leaf vocals and muted acoustic guitar carry the songs, and when to swell up and bring heightened Gothic intensity to the feelings of melancholy and dread. [Oct 2007, p.55]
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Under The RadarNorth Star Deserter marks Chesnutt's eleventh full-length and proves he still knows how to craft a masterpiece. [Fall 2007, p.78]
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The more succinct songs on North Star Deserter sound like a return to the dark woods after years in the city.
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Chesnutt has created something earthy and beautiful with North Star Deserter and at this point, its difficult to imagine another singer/songwriter bettering it this year.
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Q MagazineAs ever, North Star Deserter doesn't pull many punches, with the bare-boned 'Warm' making the starkest of openers. [Oct 2007, p.94]
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UncutNorth Star Deserter is among his finest, sublimating Chesnutt's occasional tendency to cloying whimsy in gothic folk backdrops. [Oct 2007, p.87]
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MojoNorth Star Deserter is unrestrained and always affecting. [Nov 2007, p.106]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 6 out of 7
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Mixed: 0 out of 7
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Negative: 1 out of 7
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BrandonM.Oct 20, 2007