Califone

All My Friends Are Funeral Singers

BY Brock ThiessenPublished Nov 23, 2009

When it comes to back catalogues, few are as solid as Califone's. For over a decade, Tim Rutili's Chicago, IL-based project has consistently made a stellar show out of deconstructing the traditional folk format, injecting it with freewheeling avant-garde electronics, kitchen sink percussion and some of the best electro-acoustic structures around. Califone have yet to make a stinker, and they definitely haven't made one with All My Friends Are Funeral Singers, the musical companion to Rutili's new film of the same name. Soundtrack or not, the 14-track effort stands as one of band's most song-based efforts, letting all that experimentation play second fiddle to Rutili's increasingly melodic, yet odd, melodies. In fact, Califone often get back to a more roots/country feel than Funeral Singers' predecessor, 2006's Roots & Crowns, showing that perhaps Rutili's renewed activities with his old outfit, Red Red Meat, are seeping into the mix. Whatever the case may be, Funeral Singers stands as a great introduction to Califone's prolific work, as well as a record that will hit all the right spots for long-time followers.
(Dead Oceans)

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