Xs for Eyes at the Homegame Festival, Anstruther, Scotland, April, 2009
David Garland performs "Furniture" at Brooklyn Tea Party, 01/17/09
Noise In You slipped past most critics, but those who get it got excited:
"Garland strikes a perfect balance between folkish timelessness, Tin Pan Alley pop smarts and fearless invention." —David Greenberger, Harp, November 2007 (full review below)
"'Noise In You' is one of those beacons that enduringly illuminate the life of a music lover. Not even a thousand attentive listenings will be enough to fully reveal the sinuous paths of the melodies and harmonies in this work by the New Yorker [Garland]. With each measure Garland breathes completely new air, reinforced by his sonorous twelve-string guitar, his warm baritone voice, and the sonically inventive use of a good ten instruments... Garland is a master musician whose brilliantly human art stimulates the brain and cheers the heart." —Richard Robert, Les Inrockuptibles (translated from French), September 20, 2007
"Garland's new album is a tour de force. When is the last time you listened to a record that rendered subject matter such as dioramas, pyschoarchitecture, the typographic landscape of comic strips, anthropomorphizing of time, and one of the hottest choruses ever constructed solely from the names of clouds...with elegance and ornate beauty? Well, for us here at Asthmatic Kitty, even our collective music nerd ears haven't ever heard anything like this. ...we think the album is a thing of strange beauty that should be heard by many." —AsthmaticKitty.com
"That Garland is underappreciated as a singer-songwriter is somewhat ironic, given that his voice is among the most recognizable in New York City. As the host of WNYC-FM's Spinning on Air for the past 20 years, he has made a life's mission of gently erasing musical boundaries. ... Garland's voice has never sounded warmer than in these tender vignettes that examine the science of being alive. ...he mixes high art, personal craft and gentle whimsy into something anyone can use." —Steve Smith, Time Out New York (5 stars out of 6), July 18–25, 2007
"Garland's writing is as witty, delicate, utterly-original-yet-so-easy-to-appreciate as ever. In fact, in terms of songwriting, musicianship, and production, Noise in You is the man's most accomplished work to date and may very well prove to become his most timeless slice of music." —François Couture, allmusicguide.com (4-1/2 stars out of 5)
"...almost inexplicably beautiful... It doesn't sound like much else out there either, even with this amount of well known collaborators. The production and the way the record has been put together sets it well apart from the rest of the scene. A hugely enjoyable and unceasingly strange record that is a far cry from the lazy folk records we seem to becoming accustomed to—highly recommended!
—boomkat.com
"Aptly titled, David Garland's Noise in You celebrates a delirious range of sounds. Case in point is ‘Drop by Drop,' a simple, beautifully composed song built around a banjo. Arranged as a jeweled miniature, there's color from reeds, xylophones, and acoustic guitars, as well as a robust chorus of vocals and a gleeful snare drum utilized—in carefully chosen passages—with such giddy abandon that it becomes a sort of built-in cheerleader for the song. There's an orchestral sensibility to the album, making the presence of Sufjan Stevens on a number of the tracks a logical connection (the younger Stevens clearly having been influenced by Garland's several decades' worth of recordings). There's a warm and poetic bearing to the lyrics, which encompass everything from anecdotes of John Cage to a litany of cloud types. Garland strikes a perfect balance between folkish timelessness, Tin Pan Alley pop smarts and fearless invention."
—David Greenberger, Harp, November 2007
Noise In You was released on Family Vineyard, July 24, 2007. Previous albums are detailed here.
Guest musicians on Noise In You include Sufjan Stevens who sings and plays oboe on six songs (including "Cumulonimbus," Damn Dreams," "Prelude," "Every Bird," and "Xs for Eyes"); Diane Cluck on "Diorama"; Mira Romantschuk (of Mi & Lau) on "Prelude" and "Every Bird"; Viking Moses (Brendon Massei) on "Every Bird"; and David Deporis. All weave their harmony and humanity with my own. Instrumental contributions come from young sarode player Liam Hofmann, and Deerhoof drummer Greg Saunier. My 19-year-old son Kenji Garland, on electric guitar and bass, provides some of the rumbliest, noisiest moments in Noise In You.
I've also been inspired by the aural visions of the many guests who have performed on my radio show Spinning On Air on WNYC New York Public Radio, including Devendra Banhart, Sufjan Stevens, The Incredible String Band, Animal Collective, Antony and the Johnsons, Akron/Family, Robert Wyatt, The Fiery Furnaces and many others. More info here. —David Garland
Will you be in town on July 18th? If so, come to the 7th annual NYC Musical Saw Festival in Astoria. So far 45 musical saw players registered to perform. 2 are coming from Japan, 3 from Germany, 3 from Canada, 1 from Belgium and the rest from all over the USA. It will be wild!
Have you ever seen or heard so many musical saw players playing together? This is a once in a lifetime kind of thing on account of the Guinness World Record we are going for. Hope to see you there!
When: Saturday, July 18th, 2pm Where: Trinity Church, 31-18 37th Street (37th street at 31st Ave), Astoria Admission: $10
Dearest David, It was truly a joy to meet you. I hope we do it all again one day. I actually had a dream about you, believe it or not... Brendon, Laura, Johnny and I were performing a show together as your backing band. You were dancing, and everybody in the audience was copying your moves to the letter - that was the best part. Seeing a couple of hundred people echoing you is a dream memory that will stay with me for a good while. Take care, ~Ceylan. x x
I hope that your week has got off to a good start. And I hope especially that you are enjoying this very moment in time!
Would you do me a great favour, please? I'm trying to get some of my music recognised a bit more on the internet. Could you please go to www.ourstage.com and search for Tangent Man. Then please play ‘A Most Extraordinary Dream’ as many times as you want! This should help the song rise up the respective chart! If you open it up with the play arrow, the song should repeat play - so you can turn off the sound and minimise it and you won't even have to put up with my voice! Thanks.
Prévue le 1er avril, la sortie de l’album “je remercie le hasard qui” a été avancée pour répondre à l’engouement du clip «dans l’herbe» sur YouTube. Avec plus de 170.000 visites en 3 semaines et des commentaires du monde entier, ce très beau travail d’animation d’Olivier Martin offre un niveau de plaisir quasi équivalent à celui d'une pause pipi dans une prairie au printemps... Pour acheter l’album, les concerts (3 Baudets le 3 avril...), toutes les infos sur le MySpace.
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