Recorded shortly before
Ardent Fevers but not released until a year after that album,
Saunders Hollow is another example of the balanced power of
Tanakh, striking a middle way between Jesse Poe's particular vision and the combination of the many performers that make up the free-floating group. But the result here is of a different sort again, as singer and multi-instrumentalist Michele Poulos takes the lead vocal role throughout this record, a bold move that works wonders. Much like
Ardent Fevers,
Saunders Hollow explores an aesthetic of restrained, mysterious beauty, a combination of a processional and a stately and poised collapse. "Ladybird" sets the tone with its blend of mournful strings, gentle pace, and interwoven keyboards and guitars, Poulos adding the killer touch on both vocals and vibraphones -- it calls to mind a never-never Europe of dark winters shot through with understated passion, no bad thing at all. But by no means is it all a European trip; the title track, for instance, almost suggests what would have happened if
the Band had performed a quiet
Ennio Morricone piece for an early-'70s movie, sprightly but still mournful acoustic guitar against a calm arrangement. Poe sings at a few points on the album but it's Poulos' performances on songs like "Longer Than Sorrow" that listeners will appreciate first and foremost. "Down," the darkest moment of the album sonically thanks to a slow beat and dour lead strings and bass tones, relies on Poulos' calm singing to provide the just-contrasting-enough sonic anchor. Not everything on
Saunders Hollow is a strung-out mood piece, certainly -- songs like "Marcel Proust" have a quicker clip to them, if still performed with the same cool control. Meantime, concluding number "Illusions of Separation" takes the most experimental bent, incorporating everything from drones to seemingly random noise. ~ Ned Raggett