III

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U.K. pop project Butcher the Bar was never particularly spare sounding, even when it was just singer/songwriter Joel Nicholson making most of the sounds. His earliest material was largely acoustic but still sounded bright and optimistic, more in line with the wide-eyed moments of early work by the Decemberists or Sufjan Stevens than the typical dour indie folk fare. He expanded his arrangements on 2011's For Each a Future Tethered, and following a tour in support of that album, Nicholson and his band worked on and off for several years on the songs that eventually became III. While the process for the album may have been long and labored, it's hard to detect any stress or hardship in its breezy atmospheres. Opening with the drifty jangle of "Lying," Nicholson's light songwriting is backed by tasteful organ and power pop vocal harmonies that land somewhere between Big Star and Teenage Fanclub. Where other Butcher the Bar albums went for sweeping arrangements with bells or strings prominent in the mix, things here are understated until the occasional burst of triumphant Neutral Milk Hotel-like horn parts show up. The song ripples with dynamic tension from its precise arrangement, and sets the tone for the rest of III. The relatively more subdued "Haunts" highlights the great playing of the backing band, with skillful drumming, piano playing, and guitar work from musicians who sound dedicated to perfecting their instrument rather than the "it'll do" playing that often comes from solo artists overdubbing all the parts themselves. III is an album with many highlights, from the hooky '90s throwback of "Clarky," to the gentle mesh of falsetto vocals and melancholic strings on "Elevator" to romping album-closer "Go." Butcher the Bar manages to pull out all the stops and still sound effortless on III, and contains some of Nicholson's best songs in the process.
© Fred Thomas /TiVo