Brightblack Morning Light

Brightblack Morning Light
Label: Matador
Length: LP
Media: CD
Format: Album
WorkNameSort: Brightblack Morning Light
Prior to signing to Matador, the music Nathan Shineywater and Rachael Hughes made together was notable for what it lacked ' it didn't swagger, and it wasn't well nourished. Released on Galaxia in 2004, Ala.cali.tucky paired forlorn, sallow hippie/spiritual harmonizing and Rhodes-sprinkled pedal-steel rainbows that stretched forever and a wretched day, squaring with the duo's homelessness. Reborn as Brightblack Morning Light, much remains the same as it ever was. The improbably named Shineywater sigh-sings stuff like 'All Rainbow Woodland go still when Owl candle call the blessed near, nearby/Still nearby the wild mountain wood fire light/It gets golden beside all we haveâ?� like it means everything. The pedal steel's in full effect ' if used more as one sonic color among many ' and the music elicits an unshakable urge to provide the band with home-cooked meals. What's new is the presence of soul and swagger, courtesy of an assisting ensemble that includes bassist/pianist Paz Lenchantin (Zwan, A Perfect Circle), drummer Andy MacLeod and backup singers. The auxiliary players lend Brightblack Morning Light welcome dimension. On the church-pew strut of 'Everybody Daylight,â?� handclaps, congas and flutes embellish Sunday-service Rhodes framing, and a scattering of tabla, percussion and clarinet grants the reggae-tinged 'Amber Canyon Magikâ?� exotic, funky legs.