After
Matthew Dear switched from the finely tuned indie-crossover minimal techno of his early releases to the knotty avant-pop of 2007's Asa Breed, which ended with a few acoustic guitar-driven tracks, he began working on other songs that prominently featured looped guitars and other organic instruments. Ultimately, he de-emphasized guitars on 2010's ambitious,
Bowie-esque Black City, which ended up being one of his most acclaimed albums. A decade later, he revisited the rootsy direction he didn't fully explore at the end of the 2000s, and released some of this material as
Preacher's Sigh & Potion: Lost Album. While
Dear has been associated with Michigan's electronic music scene his entire career, he was actually born and raised in Texas. His father played fingerpick-style guitar, and he exposed the young
Dear to the music of country and folk singer/songwriters like
Emmylou Harris and
Townes Van Zandt. The songs incorporate twangy guitars, tambourines, and even splashes of honking harmonica, and
Dear's lyrics sometimes have a storylike narrative to them, as on opener "Muscle Beach." Taking all of this into account, the tracks are still constructed with the ear of a techno producer rather than a country songwriter. With a few exceptions, such as the quiet piano breakdown during the strummy "All Her Fits," most of the album sticks to repetitive, loop-based structures. "Hikers Y" is a stripped-down, hypnotic thumper with groggy lyrics about social anxiety, and "Heart to Sing" gradually piles on close-miked guitar loops and a multi-tracked chorus of sleepwalking
Dears. "Supper Times" is a cool, refreshing diversion, with downtempo electro beats and a synth sequence that shimmers like a tranquil, pebble-filled stream. The immediately following "Crash and Burn," on the other hand, is a garage rock-style rave-up with industrial-style vocal distortion, yet there's an eerie cloud of atmospheric synths covering everything, keeping it from being the ecstatic howl of joy it would've been if a rock & roll band were playing it.
Preacher's Sigh & Potion sounds a bit jarring at first, but it makes more sense considering
Dear's family background, and it does have a kind of rootsy, lived-in charm the more time one spends with it. Even if the songs don't always work, at least they feel like earnest personal expressions rather than forced, miscalculated "who is this even for?" hybrids. ~ Paul Simpson