If the name sounds vaguely familiar, then there’s a reason: J Tillman’s a.k.a the Fleet Foxes’ drummer. Away from the band he has a distinguised catalogue of solo work – acoustic guitar songs (with sometime piano and violins) so beautiful that they could charm cats down from trees, halt wars and heal the most broken of hearts. Stuff like this is precisely why God put hairs on the back of our necks: it sure wasn’t for aesthetic reasons, after all. While he’s just as hirsute, Tillman’s voice is more baleful and glum than those of his band-mates, and his songs are slowly and less glorious set-pieces than transcendental melodies, the type that will dissolve into meaningless powder if you work them too hard. The best policy is to sit back, dim the lights, close your eyes and be glad that there’s a sound for your sorrow.
J Tillman’s playing at the Relentless Garage, the new name for The Garage, up in Highbury & Islington. He’s a big-name draw and I’d expect the show to sell out quick, especially given the Fleet Foxes’ popularity. For non-Londoners, there are subsequent shows at Manchester, Leicester and Glasgow. Deets on the MySpace page linked below.
Live date
Weds 7 Oct – The Relentless Garage (buy tickets here)
J Tillman on MySpace
MP3
J Tillman – When I Light Your Darkened Door (zSHARE)
Buy J Tillman EPs here (Sonic Boom Records)