Arise Therefore

Will Oldham | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 29, 1996)
• Original Release Date: May 3, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Drag City
• ASIN: B0000019RT
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,816 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Will Oldham, the guitarist-singer-songwriter behind Palace Music and its various incarnations (Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and plain Palace), is not a rocker by any stretch of the imagination, nor even a particularly good musician. But despite (or perhaps, because of) his limitations, he manages to make disarmingly unique and effective recordings. Palace music, whether buffeted by the slide guitar and banjo of the 1993 debut There Is No One What Will Take Care Of You or framed by the piano figures and low-tech Maya Tone drum machine heard on Arise Therefore, always sounds as if it teeters on the edge of oblivion, one whimper away from breaking down and one languid, creaky note from crumbling completely.

While Oldham's hiccuppy blues tendencies have led critics to brand his Palace music somehow Appalachian, the Louisville-based former actor probably doesn't know enough about song forms to imitate them effectively. But his strained voice and low-fi folk approach to what's essentially indie rock do create the illusion that he's fronting a rustic mountain jug band. Still, Oldham's delicate poetry reveals lyrical sophistication. You know there's something a little more postmodern going on. --Roni Sarig

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Frozen, sparse, grim, October 9, 2001

By 

Rob Damm - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arise Therefore (Audio CD)

There is little in Palace's catalog to prepare you for this stunning document of rage, regret and longing. "Viva Last Blues" sounds like a party record next to this! The minimalist drum machines set the backdrop for Will's most complex and beautiful words yet. There is little else-- a wheeze of organ, a spare guitar figure, gloomy bass-- and that's the point. There is nothing to distract attention from Will's otherworldly singing and truly chilling and beautiful lyrics

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark with Ah! bright wings..., June 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Arise Therefore (Audio CD)

Beautiful in the pure, heartbreaking way that suits true beauty best. Soft, shocking, then unbelievably hopeful, this is an album that should be listened to completely, in the dark, smoking, with someone who understands you.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars outstandingly brave with subtle silence, July 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Arise Therefore (Audio CD)

Stablemate trundles to the grounding beat that gives a feel of being hardened yet fragile yet always highlighted by the repetitive piano refrains. Here is the start of a wonderfully steady L.P. of true Oldham intensity. The truth of the matter is that OLdham comes through with winning colours when he is at his bleakest and most minimal. The greatest example of this is the caustic and vaguely mystical atmosphere of A Sucker's Evening. This song is disarmingly powerful in it's simplicity, it has to be at most 4 notes repeated over with a brief step upwards and then retreat. It's the title track which suddenly turns the listener around with a sense of simple yet slightly caroulsing joy. As a whole the L.P. is a more than worthy addition to anyone's record collection even if it is the only Oldham purchase made. The three triumphs though on this album have to be both Give Me Children and the enchanting The Sun Highlights The Lack In Each, and finally You Have Cum... all I can say is just hold onto every beat of that cheap drum machine and you'll never be far from nourished by Will's dolcit tones here. Understandably, Oldham's music can cause some to to depress, yet it's the beauty within his music that finally wins one over that should be focused on. A true visionary to the ear.