(FatCat)

www.fatcatrecords.com

It shouldn’t take the attentive listener long to reconcile Curtis Harvey’s basement-made, trad-sounding Box of Stones with the richly textured music he previously made with ‘90s slowcore pioneers Rex and the avant-folk outfit Pullman. These 12 self-recorded songs may find Harvey exploring his affinities for John Fahey, Dust Bowl protest songs and traditional song structures, but in them you can hear the familiar elements of his prior incarnations, particularly drone and atmosphere. Harvey plays everything on this record, but the songs have a sneaky intensity more typical of a full band: a single guitar or banjo and Harvey’s weary voice evolve into sumptuous layers of strings, percussion, and the occasional additional accent like piano or accordion.

The nearly five-minute “Borrowed Time” best captures both Harvey worlds. His crisp flat-picking makes every pull-off and hammer-on ring out like he’s playing next to you (not unlike “Ride Home” from Rex’s C), and he sings the menacing folk ditty like a baritone Mark Lanegan until the last two minutes when the percussion and guitar textures stack up like smoke. The circling electric riff of “Medicine” combines with acoustic guitars, glock and violin to create a helix-like tapestry that recalls Pullman’s droning beauty (only with Harvey singing a narrative vignette celebrating simple joys), while the banjo creates a similar effect on “Bag Of Seeds.” The songs sound both carefree and well thought-over, even the impromptu sing-along choruses from “Seen” – recorded live at a Brooklyn date – don’t sacrifice sound quality.

Really the only surprise here is how naturally Harvey takes to the traditional element in these songs – the marching Brit-folk shuffle “March Into the Sun” sounds like it’s been around forever, while “Words” and “Across the Sea” are wistful, classic love songs worthy of any era’s balladeers. And like Rex and Pullman records, each listen to Box Of Stones increases your appreciation for the craftsmanship of the playing, arranging and songwriting.  “Sometimes good things fall through the cracks,” a wizened Harvey sings over banjo and shaker on the opener “Oldertoo,” and you couldn’t sum up his career -- or this small, simple gem of a record -- any better.

Standout Tracks: “Borrowed Time” “Across the Sea” “Medicine” JOHN SCHACHT