An early reference point for me getting into this album when it was released (10 years ago, holy shit!) was , which in retrospect is ridiculous. The beauty of Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill (and most albums) lies squarely in ' songwriting, which shechoosesto soak in reverb and tape hiss as an artistic choice, but is every bit as alluring without it (if youve seen her live you know what I mean).The record begins with awave of white noise to reset the palate, before Lizs ghostly couplet of vocals and overdriven guitarstrums wash up on the shore. Over the next 11 tracks, she deliversstirring hymns buried inripples of acoustic guitar; each track slowly cascading into the next with cottony atmosphere for days. Its as if some timid creature has descended from the woods and is playing gorgeous alien songs around your campfire, and youre too captivated by her beauty to tell her to get lost. Harris subsequent projects have played with the formula a bit, adding and subtracting layers; inviting the listener in close beforepulling awayagain. But Dragging is the most sublime overall experience, with the sheer beauty of songs like Fishing Bird (Empty Gutted In The Evening Breeze), Heavy Water / Id Rather Be Sleeping, Invisible and Weve All Gone To Sleep subjected to varying levels of saturation and echo making for an intoxicating listen. She continues to release amazing records ( is stunning), but this is the one we always compare them to. Highly recommended.
- black vinyl pressing
- includes circular sticker drawn by Liz Harris
- music label:Kranky 2013
