Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Danielson wins again, June 30, 2004
We've got the Danielson Family, Danielson Famile, Tri Danielson, Danielson, and now Br. Danielson. Anyway you wind em up I like em. And apparently this record's all Daniel. At least in concept. The whole family and then some contribute to Brother is to Son.
My I-Tunes player labels the genre as "unclassifiable". I can concur on some levels. It's either that or a string of neo niches that you don't want to read and I don't want to taint you with. When I saw the Danielson Famile perform in New York I was dumbfounded by the beauty, spirit, and uniqueness of the performance. The group is electrifying and their records do tend to nearly reflect the spectrum of the group. The visual just can't be overlooked.
So reminiscent of the social religion of the giddy clean Southern Baptist summer camps and vacation Bible schools I attended as a child. Only this is truly poetic and claiming that spirituality in a different, poignant, visceral and revelatory dimension. This has the makins of cults.
Daniel's more revealing of himself in the songs here ("Hammers Sitting Still," " Perennial Wine"), and the arrangements have a more narcotic and free feel, but they are truly Danielson with the clenched attack of the acoustic guitar strum and Daniel's chokehold falsetto. There's also a new maturity to the material. Terrific time and tempo changes that come unexpected and welcome. The vocal performances are leading the way with as much diversity and character as the musical arrangements. A mystical web is woven song after song and the record would mesmerize if it weren't for the compulsion to rock with it. ("Cookin Mid Country," "Animal in Every Corner"). The religion might scare off some of the more leery, but the power of the art speaks for itself. Religious or not, it's a magnificent work.
Bill Bryson
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Danielson:Music as Van Gogh:Painting, March 17, 2006
This is a masterful work of art. This may sound overly dramatic, but Danielson is after more than uplifting pop music in his songs, making music that takes you places, backed up by poetic lyrics laced with Christian imagery. Of all the Danielson albums, this one feels the most musically mature and its tone is a bit more serious than ones past. There are some haunting moments, where his chants and whispers are melodically repetitive (listen to Perennial Wine when he sings "over and over and over and over and over and over...").
The cover art for this and other Danielson albums has ties to the music, both exemplifying a folk-art aesthetic. The album art is naive and child-like, with bright colors and broad strokes. Similarly, the music uses of sing-along choruses like you may have sung in 3rd grade, and he makes good use of raw acoustic guitar, banjo, juice harp, bells, light electric guitar accents, piano, and most importantly, his unmistakable high-pitch singing.
All the songs are strong, but my choice for standouts include Cookin' Mid-County, Daughters Will Tune You, Perennial Wine, and Brother:Son.
Danielson & Famile is an acquired taste because it is so dramatically different from anything you've heard, but once you acquire the taste there is no stopping their infectious art. If you have open ears and listen to mainstream music, you can appreciate this. But as listener who subscribes a Christian worldview, you will be challenged to unpack Danielson's poetry and contemplate the authenticity of your faith. Support quality indie music that is more art than escapist pop.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Sincere, Artistic, Joyous, Beautiful, September 14, 2008
I have the frustrating habit of procrastination, which usually causes more harm than good. I've been meaning to write this review for over a year now and well, I guess I've been putting it off. There is one instance where procrastinating actually did me some good. It was the day before I was heading out of town for a trip and I found myself scrambling around at work trying to get everything finished at the last minute. It was a typical burning the midnight oil all-nighter. At about 3:30 am, I finally finished and headed for home to pack and catch my morning flight out. On the way home, I was semi-delirious and exhausted, so I flipped on the radio, which happened to be tuned to KALX, the UC Berkeley radio station. At that moment the song "Our Givest" came on and I thought I'd finally cracked. It was after calling the station to find out who the artist was, that I became aware of the artistic genius of Daniel Smith. Faith-based indie pop is about the furthest genre that I would typically find appealing. Other than something in the classical realm, any faith-based music would usually have me running for the hills. Not so with Br. Danielson. This music is pure, unadulterated, uncompromising art. It is a sincere and truthful expression of love. It is rare in this world full of problems to see something so innocently honest. Smith has opened his soul for all to see. Musically, it is satisfying and delicious. In some alternative parallel dimension, it is Beatle-like in its appeal. This disc offers a rare, beautiful expression of art. The only challenge is getting past Smith's insane stranglehold falsetto. The message is in no way preachy. There are no limitations. These folks are most definitely comfortable in their own skin. Are you?
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