Fitting in somewhere between forlorn country-inspired formalism and murky theatrical/psychedelic doom, the
Broken Letters aren't a great leap forward per se, but they are a duo who knows how to leave a good initial impact. Following up an earlier EP, their first full-length,
Sing the Burning Alphabet, starts with an almost stuttering shuffle before "Thunder Ode" settles into a groove that's part warm message, part invocation. The former quality comes courtesy of singer David Hickox, who has a way of delivering sometimes sternly commanding lyrics with a soft edge, conversational but not only spoken word. In contrast, the arrangements that he and bandmate Brad Davis create are often tense and haunted, the kind of powerfully bleak music suggested by groups such as early
Angels of Light or 21st century
Earth while not specifically sounding like either -- Americana as "goth," but not limited by that description, as heard in the slow pounding drums and steady, forlorn twang of "Licht" and "In Blood." Not everything is quite so bleak, though -- songs like "Every Hollow Plow" and "Borealis" have a more gently moody and sometimes queasy quality, a bit of a kissing cousin to
Brightblack Morning Light's work but again not exactly so. Whatever elements the band shares with others, they put them together well for themselves. There's an unexpected cover which surfaces four songs on -- the early
Can classic "She Brings the Rain," turned here from the understated jazz-beat poetry of the original to a song almost fully remade into the band's own image, Hickox's slower delivery and singing style far removed from Malcolm Mooney's own, while acoustic guitar and keyboards take the song into even more distinct territory. ~ Ned Raggett