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Sam Amidon’s ninth album, Willing Brother Knowing, draws songs and lyrics from folk traditions into a restless rock setting. Recorded and produced by Big Thief drummer James Krivchenia, it brings together Irish and Appalachian fiddle tunes, old hymns, guitars and synths, with Krivchenia’s loose, grooving drums underpinning the arrangements.
‘Vineyard’ recasts an old hymn as a folk ballad, while the shape-note hymn ‘Dying Californian’ becomes a meditation on mortality. At the album’s centre, ‘Standing in the Doorway’ combines Amidon’s own lyrics with two old tunes, one American and one Irish, before the closing ‘Banjo Rock’ pushes the collaboration towards a full-blown finale.
Amidon’s work also spans collaborations with Bon Iver, The National, Beth Orton and Dijon, alongside his role as music advisor and singing coach for The History of Sound.
Tracklist
1. Daniel In The Lion's Den
2. Hangman
3. China
4. Hiram Stamper
5. The Snow It Melts
6. Innisfree
7. A Trip to Athlone / The Lonesome Jig
8. Dying Californian
9. Vineyard
10. Blackjack Grove
11. Standing in the Doorway
12. Banjo Rock