The follow-up to the Midwestern troubadour's two-part Pittsburgh project, Mission Bell sees
William Fitzsimmons delivering another elegant and intimate, sad trombone of a record that makes a meal out of the picked over carcass of heartbreak. Divorce has been a connecting theme throughout the Illinois-based singer/songwriter's career, with 2006's
Goodnight putting the magnifying glass to his parents' separation and 2008's
The Sparrow and the Crow focusing on his own annulment. Mission Bell chronicles the dissolution of his second marriage, and like its predecessors, it parses through the wreckage with both spleen and grace, unearthing nuggets of wisdom and pushing forward with the measured gait of someone who's trudged through this particular battlefield before. Employing an evocative blend of confessional chamber pop and gently finger-picked and electronics-kissed indie folk that's lent extra warmth by its creator's hushed,
Sufjan Stevens-esque vocals, it's also
Fitzsimmons first analog recording. The natural 2-inch tape compression adds considerable presence to some of the more intricately arranged (and standout) tracks like "Angela", "Distant Lovers", and "Second Hand Smoke", the latter of which gives off a sort of
Romantica-era
Luna vibe. ~ James Christopher Monger