10. Doveman - With My Left Hand I Raise the DeadA very different approach to the idea of musical deconstruction, of the sound of silence, can be found in this challenging album by these jazzy (?) self-confessed lampshade rockers. By challenging I mainly mean ‘hard to listen to on shuffle’; of the 16 slow and stately tracks here, just over half is an actual song, the other seven take up almost as much time, connecting the songs not through interludes, but through almost improvisational textures, bits of melody dis- and re-appearing and sometimes alternating with hiss and muttering (if you can spare 11.5 minutes, listen to “track 9” and “Castles” in order, and swoon). These nameless tracks function as out- and intro, leading in and out of song, perfectly mirroring the intimate Doveman live experience (check out another lovely Blogotheque video), in which Thomas Bartlett’s frail voice and piano subtly contrast with bits and pieces of mandolin and trumpet, like “Chet Baker Sings” Radiohead, broken and lovely.
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