A dude who sings like a girl and a band that plays Sigur Ros through Tom Waits’ old gramophone - This is most likely the weirdest record of the year. If you like Nu Folk or are just plain curious, read on.
Pity the Metal chap who bought this on spec because of the cute band name.
First time you pop this on the hifi you’ll be forgiven to think it’s Vashti Bunyan or some other folky girl from the 1960’s. You get that whispy, blink-and-she’s-gone style of singing, the acoustic guitar and hand drums on ‘Block My Eye’ and ‘Bruno’s Torso’.
Roughly half of the tracks on ‘Nothing’ can be safely described as Folk. Then things get weird. If you imagined sitting in a snug, Greenwich Village coffee house you’ll find yourself transported to a grimy bar on the Bowery, boots sticking to the beer covered floor. Ladies and gentleman, let me introduce ‘The Widening’, pure Tom Waits including muted trumpet and beaten-up bar piano.
Your journey doesn’t stop here. Death Vessel will insist on dragging you to some Icelandic wasteland where they proceed to play Sigur Ros style Fjell Pop. Savour the extra sadness and sorrow bolted in the singing on ‘Exploded View’ and ‘Fence Around Field’.
Finally, you’re allowed to chill at a party pad up Laurel Canyon with sweet West Coast singer songwriter material like ‘Peninsula’ and ‘Circa’.
You see, ‘Nothing Is Precious’ is a very evocative album, calling up places and scenes from an imaginary travelogue. It’s quite amazing to think that all this was thought up in a rehearsal room in urban-as-it-gets Brooklyn.
The question is, can you get used to the voice of Death Vessel frontman Joel Thibodeau? I like a Curtis Mayfiled style Soul falsetto, but this is a different ball game.
Thibodeau does not only sing high, he actually flits between the different rhythms and phrasings that you’d typically associate with male and female singers. The only similarly androgynous vocal style I can think of is that of Asha Puthli, a female Jazz singer from the 70’s, on Rare Groove classics like ‘Right Down Here’.
Watch Thibodeau And Death Vessel Perform Live
‘Nothing Is Precious Enough For Us’ is full of quirky ideas. I’m not sure yet whether the quirks will become annoying with time or whether they’ll make me listen to the album when a lot of other Amricana styled records will sound tired and dated after a few years.
We say: 
UK and Ireland readers, you can download ‘Nothing Is Precious Enough For Us’ here from iTunes.
US Readers - Buy Death Vessel’s New Album On CD Here!
UK And Ireland Readers - Buy Death Vessel’s New Album On CD And Vinyl Here!
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Photo Credit (Post Thumbnail): L. Corson
