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| Over the Rhine
Drunkard's Prayer
(Back Porch; 2005)
By Heather Yarnell, September 2005
Following up an album as acclaimed as Ohio, Over the Rhine's 2003 double disc exercise in exquisite musicianship and poetic lyricism, would certainly be enough to traumatize more than a few skilled artists. Leave it to Over the Rhine to proceed with an album just as sophisticated and classy as their recent masterpiece. Now with fourteen years recording experience and a dozen albums to their name, Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler release Drunkard's Prayer, a quietly intense record that proves their ability to transfer personal anguish into some of the most beautiful music being made today is unparalleled. Recorded entirely in their living room, this is music that holds simplicity and haunting atmosphere as its power. The hushed mood of Prayer is set with "I Want You to Be My Love," and though nowhere nearly as captivating as Over the Rhine's finer moments, the song's piano and acoustic guitar accompaniment is deeply enhanced by Bergquist's performance. Capable of wringing intense emotion out of even the slightest lyric, she truly is one of modern music's most talented vocalists. However charming the opening may be, the album truly awakens with "Born," Prayer's focal point and lead single. The poetic protest of "Spark" is also a clear album highlight, providing Over the Rhine ample opportunity to show off their aptitude for communicating the essence of a song with delicate potency. The title track maintains the soothing element running through Prayer's core, even though there's desperation, longing and determination brewing beneath this music's tranquil ambience. Also worth noting are the unassumingly majestic "Firefly" and the three ring carnival waltz of "Hush Now (Stella's Tarantella)." Prayer may not equal the delicate power of Ohio, but really, what could? With more than enough material to establish that this duo hasn't lost one ounce of the bravery that allows them to write such honest pieces, Drunkard's Prayer is certainly yet another lovely addition to the discography of Over the Rhine.
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