Year In The Kingdom [Cardboard Wallet]

Unraveling some kind of galactic wilderness, J. Tillman s sixth album
lyrically borders on the mystic, proffering a transcendent union and a
sense of effortlessness. Strange and honest, this song cycle inhabits its
own idea-scape, seemingly obsessed with wrestling death. Tillman started
recording in April, tracking most of the instruments himself. Hammered dulcimer, banjo, recorder, cymbals of varying size, and wheezing air organs all feature heavily. The string arrangements, performed by Jenna
Conrad and transposed from Tillman s sung direction, were intended to
rest on chords almost counter-intuitively, bringing to bloom complex, decontextualized tones. YITK sounds liberated, and is far and away Tillman s
most joyful work. Created with little input or context, it is seemingly
disinterested in communicating much else than a meditation for the few
who allow themselves to listen with an open heart.