Style: A swirl of modern jazz mixed with yearning folk; compare to Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Talk Talk
Top tracks: “Each Summer Sound,” “The Funeral Bell,” “Through All the Fates”
Where does one go after crafting a bold and beautiful album full of meditations of dying and the afterlife? If you are David Karsten Daniels, you stretch yourself musically by collaborating with a nine-piece avant garde jazz ensemble. The songs that came out of these joint writing and recording sessions make a beautiful racket, finding the sweet spot between Daniels’ own folk-pop leanings and the more far-reaching instrumental explorations of Fight the Big Bull. Daniels responds in kind with songs that reach deep into his soul to further explore the end of life and the hope for peace both within one’s spirit and in the world at large.
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