Customer Reviews

A Cork Tale Wake

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Chris Bathgate's music frustrates attempts at categorizing. Possessed of a richly agile voice, accomplished songwriting skills which draw on deeply personal imagery (and frequently tread into the dreamlike), and unafraid to embellish his sparely intricate guitar with flugelhorns, distortion, and layers of delay, Bathgate is one of the most forward-thinking singer/songwriters on the planet right now. His songwriting and playing can be stark and harrowing, or dense and lulling, or infectiously catchy -- sometimes within the same song!

In addition to being an excellent songwriter and performer, Chris is also a considerate gentleman, an encouraging presence, and a genuine asset to the flourishing mid-Michigan music culture.

Michigan does it again. I seriously have no idea what happens there to produce songwriters & musicians of genuine quality and substance, but it happens, and happens a great deal. Let's start a short list, and roll from there: Sufjan Stevens (a given), Anathallo (Chicagoans now, but Mt. Pleasant produced 'em), Ben and Bruno (hello, Grand Rapids), Ribbons of Song, Breathe Owl Breathe, and our boy here - Chris Bathgate.
"A Cork Tale Wake" is a solid release from a man who isn't afraid to mix his folk with horns and some electric guitar crunch as necessary. I'm somewhat uncertain who to compare him to, as I don't desire to do disservice to either his music or those I might cite. However, if you take a playlist involving any of the aforementioned bands, add Crooked Fingers and Damien Jurado to it, and even add some aspects of decidedly more experimental, atmospheric acts, Chris's music would join them quite comfortably.
Specifically, there are songs on this album that floor me. I re-play "Cold Fusion (Snakes)" again and again, and there's a distorted electric guitar part on "The Last Parade on Ann St." that I swear to you reminds me inescapably of some riff from the Pixies' "Doolittle". So much so that it renders me giddy every time I listen to it.
"A Cork Tale Wake" vacillates between haunting, gorgeous, and fun. That's such a weak description, but it stands. Truthfully, it stands.

From the first time I heard "Serpentine," I have loved Chris Bathgate's music. These are songs I can play over and over again ad infinitum and never get bored.