"Languid, sadly beautiful portraits of love and life on the margins with the moody depth of Nick Drake and the country-influenced textures of Ryan Adams." -- All Music Guide "A GvsB favorite ... fans of Drake or Oldham would be wise to check him out." -- Gorilla vs. Bear "Intimate, confessional ...[a] lovely, late-night album." -- Mojo
Since 2004, J. Tillman has quietly been releasing records that have been, for the most part, unheard--some were of limited quantity, some were mostly available in Europe. The borderline-alienating starkness and welllived- in narratives of his first two records, I Will Return and Long May You Run, J. Tillman (released in limited runs of 150) endeared him to fans and drew comparisons to Nick Drake, Will Oldham, and Jason Molina. In 2006, after three months in Europe touring on his third and most accessible album Minor Works, Tillman recorded his fourth collection of songs at home with his brother and roommate. Cancer and Delirium struck a perfect balance between the intimacies of his earlier releases and the nuanced, melodic sense of Minor Works. Each song was imbued with the same strikingly disconsolate singing and devastatingly poignant prose that Tillman is known for, and was accented with some of his most gorgeous, spare arrangements. Vacilando Territory Blues, Tillman's fifth album and first with Austin's Western Vinyl, came as the result of three different recording attempts in 2008. The push and pull of this record veers sharply from the tone of Tillman's previous releases, which for the most part adhere to a singular mood and stylistic execution. Sacrificing a stylized album, the breadth of Tillman's abilities as a songwriter emerge in an array of musical personalities bound by his lyrical existential dread and economical arrangements. In 2008, Tillman joined Fleet Foxes, a Seattle band of longtime friends and musical collaborators. Casey Wescott and Christian Wargo both appear on VTB, along with several regular contributors who were willing to adapt to idiosyncratic recording obstructions. Vacilando Territory Blues is far and away Tillman's most collaborative effort, and the most striking moments here are those seemingly stumbled upon, without resorting to second-takes or microphone re-adjustment. This album casts a strange perspective on what people have come to expect from Tillman's music, but these songs, though oddly untethered, reveal the process of someone coming to terms with the prospect of making music in the void.
