***1/2 Tim Eriksen
LUMINOUS CYCLES
(Appleseed)
ust as his best-known band, Cordelia’s Dad, reconvene, Tim Eriksen
releases his rst solo album, which sounds almost exactly like the
band’s own most recent releases. Eriksen started out as a rocker,
but he’s also always been interested in the songs that have passed
down through American tradition, and in their intimate acquaintance
with death. This album presents some of the old numbers in his
repertoire (and a couple of his own) with sublime, ferocious
simplicity and directness. A few feature only his unmistakable
voice molded by his experience singing shape-note hymns (vibratoless,
but festooned with grace notes), including an a cappella version
of Roscoe Holcomb’s “Village Churchyard” on which he opens up and rasps
like a bleeding wound for eight terrifying minutes. Others showcase his
ngerpicking technique — Martin Carthy, who provides the blurb on the
package, is clearly a big in uence on Eriksen’s guitar playing and his
general approach to the material — or his spirited ddling. There’s a
remarkable variety of material here, and he plays it all with the gusto
of someone who’s performed these songs a thousand times and loves them
better each time.
— Jon Garelick
|