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This is the most compelling recording Youngs has cut since 2004's "River Through Howling Sky," though it doesn't resemble it a bit, and is, in its way, considerably more beautiful, unquestionably more accessible, and equally as magical.
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This, likewise, isn't for every occasion--and perhaps not for everyone--but for those who do chance it, an immensely rewarding work that feels like much more than music.
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UncutHe's a minimalist/multi-instrumentalist who manages to find warmth in what could otherwise be sparse and unforgiving--note the breathtaking pauses between chords in "arise Arise" or the unremitting lilt of "All Day Monday And Tuesday." [Nov 2009, p.117]
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Under Stellar Stream is filled with such fertile repetition.
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If you acquiesce to its pacing and delivery it’s chantlike mix of chill and warmth can be a springboard to your own thoughts. If you’re not so inclined, I imagine that it would be like a Chinese water torture.
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Under Stellar Stream does one thing exceptionally beautifully, with great consistency and intelligence (but not intellectualism), rolling out an unending thread of song.
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Cushioned by minimalistic, often barely audible melodies, Young’s overt lyrical clichés transform into meditative hymns to the repetitiveness of habit and daily life so much so that when Youngs sings, “My mind is wandering / My mind is changing” on “My Mind Is in Garlands” over just a few plunked organ chords and an oscillating celestial drone for the third or fourth time, it’s tough not to feel the album’s hypnotic tug on reality.
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Under The RadarAcross six songs of minimalist repetition, the day-to-day of this 42-year-old librarian becomes meditative rondeaus, epic folk incrementals that make eerie nourishment for the wee hours. [Nov 2009, p.101]