Transfiguration of Vincent in Bloomington, MN

M. Ward
's
Transfiguration of Vincent
is nothing less than spectacular. From the buoyant, late-
Beatlesque
"Vincent O'Brien"
to the dank, shuffling, south of the border groove on
"Sad, Sad Song,"
the troubadour manages to capture a timeless folkiness and match it with a surreal and sparkling sense of nostalgia that clearly echoes
Tom Waits
. Recorded with
the Old Joe Clarks
as the backup band,
Transfiguration
is rooted firmly in old-time
Americana
, yet
's take on
country
and particularly his vocals somehow fit perfectly with
Giant Sand
,
Sparklehorse
, and California's surreal, pastoral
psych-pop
outfit
Grandaddy
(whose
Jason Lytle
contributed some
field recordings
). Just check
's stunning transformation of
Bowie
"Let's Dance,"
which proves there's some deeply buried
pop
beneath these honest
folk
tunes.
is a quiet record and might lose some listeners in it's sleepy summer melancholy, but
is the real deal -- and he's surely worthy of heaps of attention and acclaim. ~ Charles Spano