Minor Works

2006 album from the American singer/songwriter and currently a member of Fleet Foxes. If Minor Works is anything to go by, Josh Tillman is several cuts above your standard-fare singer/songwriter. Greatly assisted by the curious aloofness of his warm, smoky vocals, Tillman's delivery acutely illustrates the power of understatement. The best example of this would have to be 'Restlessness': an absolutely haunting slow Country ballad fleshed out with strings, pedal steel and organ. Were it not for the restraint in Tillman's voice, the song might get bogged-down in its own syrupy Nashville trappings, as it turns out, it's quietly devastating stuff. Album closer, 'Now You're Among Strangers' is pared down to its most essential elements - voice, guitar and harmonica - and is all the more effective as a result, sounding like something from the Jason Molina songbook, minus the overbearing bleakness. A beautifully produced set of recordings, showcasing a considerable talent in contemporary Americana, Minor Works should be investigated by genre fans without delay.