Dec 04 2009 11:02 am,
A.A. Bondy
‘When The Devil’s Loose’
(Fat Possum)
There are some voices that are so imbued with sadness it’s difficult to take sometimes. On his second album, A.A. Bondy’s mournful voice sounds like utter emotional collapse. A gentle folky affair with hints of blues, ‘When The Devil’s Loose’ is permeated with a sense of loss and tragedy that’s hard to shake off. When his vocals quiver on ‘To The Morning’ you can almost feel him fall apart, while the plaintive, piano-led ‘On The Moon’ is a stark, wistful lament. These sparse, beautiful songs would be beautiful anyway, just in terms of their minor chord, musical arrangements, but with Bondy’s voice haunting them, they become truly exceptional. Pure ghostly melancholy, but of the most wonderful kind.
Mischa Pearlman
