Between 1997 and 2004,
Chris Connelly made a handful of small recordings --
Ultimate Seaside Companion,
Blonde Exodus,
Largo (with
Bill Rieflin),
Private Education -- that stood outside virtually every scene and genre. These were elegant, poetic chamber pieces that captured various states of the human heart, whether in passion, delusion or somewhere in between. This was music that struggled to come together, and was held together musically while it lyrically fell apart, albeit as gracefully as a tragic character in a '60s French film would find his world collapsing around him. Like
Scott Walker and
Jackie Leven,
Connelly didn't even consider what was going on around him. All of his music seemed to tunnel inside and bring out whatever was there, the pearls of wisdom or simply the blood, sand, dark matter to be found in the marrow. This series of albums culminated with 2004's brilliant collection of off-the wire pop songs
Night of Your Life. On
The Episodes,
Connelly moves into a new phase. Working with
Ben Vida and
Tim Kinsella,
Connelly keeps a largely acoustic vibe, but he's tossed the tight structures, languid, decadent textures, and airless spaces aside in favor of wide-open spaces that accent a kind of tribalism and willingness to let the elements themselves have a say in his proceedings. One track, in fact, "Soul Boys/Hard Legends" was field recorded in a dark, cold Wisconsin forest at night. And there's a vibe here that feels free, cast off, if a bit sadder and more paranoid.