After five rewarding albums of artful, evocative (re)interpretations of primarily traditional material (and the odd contemporary pop cover), this Vermont troubadour and multi-instrumentalist makes a seemingly sharp pivot with his first offering of entirely original compositions. That the results rarely register as a major departure indicates Sam Amidon’s deep understanding of folk traditions—his groaning lamentations on “Fortune” and “Ghosts” creak with the weight of centuries, while the melodies at the heart of “Gendel In 5” and “Juma Mountain” (both titled for musicians who play on them) lilt like timeless lullabies. Underscored throughout is how thoroughly Amidon embodies all of his material, regardless of its origins (technically speaking, he does still draw on age-old sources for some content here), and how much his art lies not simply in the songs themselves but in the distinctive, impressionistic atmospheres—tender or jagged, unsettling or serene—that he and his collaborators build around them. This time out, those treatments involve more jazzy/avant-garde edges, even without counting the full-on, shambolic improv blowout (featuring pioneering free-jazz drummer Milford Graves), a surprising closer to the record.
—K. Ross Hoffman
