The Court & Spark

I test an album three ways before I review it: on my home stereo, often in the background, on my car stereo, often loudly, and on headphones. Very few albums I like are enjoyable in all three settings. Most, like The Court and Spark's admirable third album, Witch Season, are more suited to two of these three, but fall short in one of the tests.

Witch Season sounds great on headphones and in the background of my home, but it's downright dangerous to play while operating a motor vehicle -- or any heavy machinery, for that matter. It's nap-tacular! In stark contrast to downtempo electronica bands, which seem to only fit well in urban settings, The Court & Spark create chill-out music for the countryside. But beware, this is not road trip music. You could easily fall asleep on your way to the campsite, so save this disc for the sunset canoe ride. The one exception is the transcendent "Out on the Water," which paddles faster.

Witch Season flows over you like a warm breeze. Wake me when it's over. - Jeff Kamin

By tightening up some of the watery qualities that superbly defined the sound of their 2001 full-length Bless You, the Court & Spark immediately open up some space for new textures to lead off their third and most enriched long-player yet, Witch Season. The band has always had an experimental edge and their trials have always worn the tags of meticulousness necessary to keep the meat of the songs in context, but the flag the Court & Spark have unfurled in the mighty and complex opening track eclipses any benchmark in the band's previous history. Titled "Suffolk Down Upon the Night," the song drunkenly staggers through a heavily treated opening, but only for a few seconds, before a horn section augmented by bells, pedal steel, and the rest of the band kicks the album off into sultry momentum. Co-producer and regular collaborator Scott Solter brought a little bit of crispness from M.C. Taylor's voice this time around that, combined with the slight elevation in Taylor's forcefulness, lifts it more to the surface than on previous recordings without managing to sacrifice the warmth that makes Taylor's voice so comfortable and unique. Soulter also brought his penchant for field recordings and tape manipulations to the table, an idea likely inspired by the 2001 collaboration between him and Taylor called Boxharp. As noted, the content of Witch Season is complex, but it should be stated that it is still very accessible, especially on songs like the exuberant and poppy "Out on the Water," another song adorned with horns, and the lovely title track, which like the majority of the tracks, features Tom Heyman's pedal steel to fantastic effect. With Witch Season being their second exceptional LP, the Court & Spark should have no problems convincing any skeptics that they are an extremely thoughtful band worthy of considerable attention. ~ Gregory McIntosh, All Music Guide