I recently did a piece for Vice about a Backyard Axe Throwing League which should be up tomorrow and it was a sport invented by a bunch of Canadian axe-slingers that had an affinity for beer, too much time on their hands and a backyard. This spurred the genesis of the BATL. I feel like had J. Tillman been around, he would’ve slung an axe or two because he just seems the type. He’s categorically Canadian simply by the coarse beard he wears, on top a wrinkly flannel. He’d be the kind of quiet and composed man with little words, but swift manly accuracy, at least in my mind. His new release, and 7th full length record, Singing Ax out September 14th was recorded in three days (see? swift!) in February of this year.

To me, Tillman can do no wrong, much like previous Messiahs of acoustic, blues and folk like the great Bazan. There is an aesthetic in his voice and style that he’s built that nearly guarantees a certain beauty to all of his songs. There is holy silence that permeates so that you could clearly hear the words, “who would love a loveless thing?” and the pain just hits you square in the chest with unbelievable aim. He is unlike any other songwriter out there trying so fiercely to emulate the natural prose that leak out of him, unstoppable. This record is expectedly full of the kinds of songs you’re going to want to listen to alone. So that you can bathe in them, soak them in and perhaps even catch a glimpse of that truth that he sees and writes about.

Tracklist:

01 Three Sisters
02 Diamondback
03 Love No Less Worthy
04 One Task
05 Our Beloved Tyrant
06 Tillman’s Rag
07 Mere Ornaments
08 Singing Ax
09 Madness on the Mountain
10 Maria
11 A Seat at the Table

J Tillman- Love No Less Worthy

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J Tillman- Tillmans Rag

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Tags: J. Tillman, Uncategorized

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