A rather lovely record altogether. Fits of Laughter, the debut album from Louisville, Kentucky's Bendigo Fletcher. Recorded in December 2019 but just out on Elektra Records, (another wonderful thing about it), and not a moment too soon. Laid back as a Saturday afternoon snooze in a hammock, it's a warm, nostalgic, bucolic thing of beauty. A terrific album.
So what does it sound like? Comparisons are not immediately apparent. which is always a good thing. It's a bit early Seventies in terms of its general vibe. Country Folk if you need a category that seems to work. A slightly cuddlier Wilco also come to mind, though the band do rock out too at times. What this goes back to first of all is probably The Band. Echoes of Grant Lee Buffalo perhaps. Nilsson too in terms of the vocal delivery but then lots of things I like remind me of Nilsson.
Hope that gives you some idea but really Fits of Laughter just needs to be listened to for its own qualities and they're considerable. The melodies are winding and lackadaisical in tone but also beautifully crafted. The mood is consistently good humoured. It has a a 'ragged elegance' to quote the band's own album press release. The more the album played, the more I came to love it. One of the most charming records I've heard in a long, long time.
I think I've been unwittingly waiting for my Underground American Rock record of the year for a while. There's generally one. Lawn, Wild Firth and Warehouse in recent times.
Along with the Dark Tea and Cool Ghouls albums from a few months ago this is probably that record. Fits of Laughter simultaneously ticks all my boxes and hits all my soft spots.
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