Dgarretson....Maybe so but it is really a record that encompasses all of what is special about him...stripped down and poetic, reminiscent of his finest stuff like 1997's Smog "Red Apple Falls" or 2005 "A River Ain't Too Much To Love"...all with more maturity, confidence and in a way, more gentle. Folks will get him or they won't I'd guess. I just wanted to put it out there because it is not something that many of these guys would be exposed to without digging a bit.
That'd definitely be my speed, as you know, Richard. The two Smog titles you mention are probably my two favorites, with "A River..." being on top. I believe I have you to thank for introducing me to those! What a great sense of wit, and a wonderful use of language he has. In that same vein, and I might have mentioned him before in this thread, but there's a paralell in the starkness of the music, though, so I'll echo it once again - Mark Hollis solo, self-titled effort is just beautiful. Probably more austere than any of the Smog titles mentioned though, but with a very similar starkness and intelligence. Since then I've been checking out some of his stuff with Talk Talk and the much later titles from their efforts speak a similar language. The solo album (Mark Hollis) is my favorite though.