Alex Lukashevsky / Felicity Williams / Daniela Gesundheit, Too Late Blues (side A)

I'm a fan of Alex Lukashevsky's work going back to his old band Deep Dark United, and on 2012's Too Late Blues, he reworks the old Deep Dark United song "Princess of Darkness".  This rearrangement gives a sense of how his aesthetic has evolved.  With Deep Dark United, the underlying vocal and guitar melodies of "Princess of Darkness" are surrounded by countermelodies and a driving percussion part that goes against the core rhythm of the song.  On Too Late Blues, all of the arrangement closely augments the core structure of the song.  The accompanying female vocals follow the vocal melodies with harmonies or echoes, and the vibraphone follows the guitar melody.  Even the percussive guitar from the chaotic introduction conveys the structure clearly on its own, with only minimal help from vocals.  The rest of Too Late Blues follows a similar structure — Lukashevsky's inventive songwriting is emphasized, and the new songs seem to have grown even more personal and distinctive.  The arrangements, which rely more on vocals than instruments, help to further emphasize his compositional and lyrical vision.  I miss the chaotic arrangements and energy that flattered his songs in Deep Dark United, but I also appreciate the almost-transparent insight into his mature songwriting voice.  The recording is obviously primitive, but the sparse arrangements keep everything in the foreground, and the weird timbre of the acoustic guitar fits the songs nicely.  The cover image of the three singers captures both the singer-songwriter tradition of Too Late Blues and its distinctly modern quality, and the thick, printed inner sleeve is a nice touch.