MP3: Thee Gutted String - White
I didn't listen to the new Thee Gutted String "Christmastime In Hagarna" EP back when it first posted over my brief winter break because I didn't really listen to any music over break. Instead, I enjoyed the silence of a clear mind and the company of family, a much-welcome respite for tired ears. When I did get to it however, it was immediately after sampling David Åhlén's new EP, so a compare/contrast was inevitable. David's music is, as always, pure holy devotion, and both him and Thee Gutted String perform (mostly) solo and acoustic on these new releases, but the latter is far more secular, corporeal. They do however cross paths though on "White", a song whose refrain asserts the denial of God. It could be argued that such sentiments are irreligious or even anti-religious, but I think that the struggle to attain spirituality is religion, despite the outcome. Defining the absence lends it power; a crisis of faith is still faith. Churches and denominations are irrelevant, the personal experience trumps all and in that way, both artists are exploring the same territory. 'Tis the season.
Thee Gutted String - White