That Lonesome Road Between Hurt and Soul

Dredd Foole's decades-long career in the outré has turned up any number of gems, on his own or in collaboration with others; his 2009 album with Ed Yazijian falls into the latter category, with the two providing a bed of not readily classifiable arrangements for Foole's yearning yet often playful singing. The beginning, 20-minute long "You Feel," finds Yazijian's scraping but stately violin parts ranging from the suddenly dramatic to the calmly atmospheric, well matched to Foole's understated guitar and sometimes keening vocals, dropping away entirely for an extended instrumental break. The duo serves ready notice on the album's overall intent — almost as if it was a gentler, slightly more direct Jandek at the latter's most lengthy. With that opening track setting the tone, That Lonesome Road Between Hurt and Soul lives up to its name in many ways, suggestive as it is of everything from classic country to modern heartbreak. One couldn't easily call the album "emo" by any stretch, but there's a sense of overwhelmed emotions on songs like "Overcome" that grabs the attention. Meanwhile, "Charlestown Blue" is a surprising psych monster that turns up towards the album's conclusion, with heavily reverbed guitar and Foole's sharp, snarling vocals creating something not far away from a 1968 garage somewhere (where the drummer might have temporarily been indisposed). Two covers in the middle of the album add their own kick — Jeff Buckley, whose "Song to the Siren" received the Foole treatment via Cul de Sac's first album, gets another nod with "Buzzin' Fly," while "Someone Said," adapted via J. Mascis, is transformed into "Freedom," with Yazijian's violin and Foole's soft then suddenly explosive singing carrying the strong performance.