Fingers Lift - What Never Kills Me

Fingers Lift is the solo project of one of the main contributors to Things Falling Apart.  The album consists of fairly stripped down applications of acoustic guitar, possible ukelele, trumpet, banjo, strange loops, and organ.  What is most striking to me about this album is how these songs seem like they are built primarily from the vocal melodies as the core foundation.  Some songs are lush with looping harmonies and interweaving melodies that drive the songs more than any of the instruments being plucked out in the background, existing almost as an afterthought (Mystery Tracks and Stop Digging Holes).  Sonically and lyrically, the music invokes images of a deep and lonely winter.  Yet there is a sense of warmth, too.  Kind of like being alone while watching yourself getting snowed in at a remote cabin with a fireplace and a stack of wood.  I find it pretty unbelievable that the majority of this album (if not all) was recorded to a four track cassette recorder.  The sonic quality here is pretty phenomenal.  I guess if Springsteen's Nebraska can sound that good on a four track, there's no reason this can't either.  Get Lifted.