J Tillman on Daytrotter
Posted by Matt
I think I owe Joshua Tillman an apology.
I picked up Vacilando Territory Blues months ago, gave it a few listens and lazily let it slip to the bottom of a growing playlist. It stayed there until last week, when I heard Tillman’s breathtaking Daytrotter Session, recorded in Austin during this year’s South by Southwest music conference.
The session’s four songs highlight what I like best about Tillman’s songwriting: his patience. He lets the right amount of space into his music, allowing his clear voice and emotive lyrics to do their work. On the Daytrotter Sessions, those spaces also let in the sounds of the room: a creaking chair and a singing bird outside the window. Serendipitous sounds that don’t distract, but in fact, give life to these recordings.
The session includes the alt-gospel “Master’s House”–for me, the highlight of Vacilando Territory Blues. It contains some of Tillman’s most potent lyrics, including the line “How easily the heart of man is tamed.” Indeed.
Daytrotter is a goldmine. You can download J. Tillman’s session and many, many others here.
Vacilando Territory Blues is out now on Western Vinyl.
