Dark Developments

Vic Chesnutt | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 14, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Orange Twin
• ASIN: B001F0JZV4
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #105,519 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

.A tuneful collision of Athens institutions finds fruition this fall when Orange Twin releases Vic Chesnutt's collaboration with Elephant 6 originals Elf Power, "Dark Developments." As intriguing as this combination may seem for hardcore fans of either act, the final sonic results reveal a daunting sum much greater than even the involvement of such esteemed parts would imply; the Elves' lived-in dexterity as a live band goads Vic's vocal delivery to a menacing new muscularity, imbuing this batch of songs with a sinister vibe not dissmilar to John Cale's black classic "Fear," the harsh, articulate sleaze of Lou Reed's "Street Hassle" or the defeated low key soul-music of Nick Lowe's last few records. And Chesnutt's songwriting retains its trademark literary bent; central songs carry the narrative weight, sturdy construction and lexical mystery of a longlost Raymond Carver story. And as he still woos you with his squelched, beautiful melodies, his sonic turns-in-the road take an even stranger tack with the aid of the psych-pop veterans. Recorded over the course of a winter by Vic and Derek Almstead in Chesnutt's own attic studio, "Dark Developments" revels in the intimate, home-recorded atomosphere you'd expect from an Athenian union like this. Elf Power's tripped-out pop-smarts provide the contradictory musical notions that never allow the album to sway too far in one bleak direction or another: it's that friction extant between Chesnutt's shadowy worldview and the inventive bounce and bray of the band's joyful chemistry that buoys the album, provides its freshness, and makes for highly rewarding repeated listening. "Dark Developments" stands as a classic addition to the legendary local pantheon, and, most importantly, as a brilliant statement endemic of a natural partership between two separately-evolved and vital musical entities that never feels forced, flashy or false.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not to be missed, December 2, 2008

By 

Niall (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Dark Developments (Audio CD)

What??? This has been out for almost two months and no reviews?

I thought I had all the Vic Chesnutt releases I needed, having stopped buying them after the release of Silver Lake. But the combination of VC and Elf Power was too tempting. VC does some of his best work in collaboration with other bands and this pairing is perfect.

If you've never heard Vic Chesnutt before this is the place to start.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is not what Vic did best...but he does it so very well., January 20, 2010

By 

Greg "Saganite" (Brooklyn Park, Mongolia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dark Developments (Audio CD)

Ordinarily I like my Vic Chesnutt stripped down and raw. Just the pure poetry of that wounded, haunting voice accompanied by the artfully clumsy guitar work, as on "Skitter on Takeoff." But this work of apt, adept, skillful intrusmentation provides a different kind of frame for that voice, that poetry. What emerges is both more experimental and more accessible than what I'm used to from Chesnutt's more recent output.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Album of the Year, December 29, 2008

By 

Jason George "Jmutt" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dark Developments (Audio CD)

I kept thinking this is the best Vic Chesnutt album since Silver Lake and then I thought, no, this is better. Maybe the best one since Salesman and Bernadette. No, its better than that too. This may be the best Vic Chesnutt album. This is the album I've been looking forward to since 2003's Silver Lake.