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Probably the saddest album Iāve ever heard. made after the passing of his wife Phil Elverum made one of the most brutally honest and cathartic depictions of grief. lyrically itās so well written despite the emotional turmoil and uncertainty he faces and itās all let out over really minimalistic folk instrumentals. If you want a taste of what this sounds like hereās a passage from the first song and one of my favourite on the album.
1d ago
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this is so potent! been told the rest of the album is equally as devastating. iāve never had a complete listen through to confirm cause i only handle it up to 4 songs. the album is written in dedication to his late wife who died of cancer shortly after the birth of their daughter and so did my grandma not too long ago. although the love i have for my nan and phil for his wife differ, the grief is the same.
Sep 19, 2024
There is too much to say about this incredible piece of art. But I recall watching this at the height of the pandemic, alone in my room entranced by the repetitive first 10+ minutes of guitar. It is accompanied by decades worth of photo prints taken by Phil, placed on top of one another from around the world, which coincide with his lyrics.
He sings, "I decided I would try to make music that contained this deeper peace buried underneath distorted bass fog imbued with light and emptiness" ... uhhh okay fuck.
It is a collection of memories, his journey through life, making music with the microphones and growing up in Washington. "When you're younger every single thing vibrates with significance".
There is also a live chat replay, where you can see Phil Elverum's comments and descriptions of what the photos are.
Every so often I come back to this incredible piece of art, and as cliche as it sounds it brings me back to that weird time in the world so clearly, and I find myself very thankful for Phil's songwriting and art.
Anyways prepare to be heartbroken and also inspired by the beauty and pain he transmits to you.
Feb 13, 2024
Itās such an uncompromising song, it tackles grief and the processing of it in a vulnerable but ultimately human way. The production (credit to Benjamin Booker & Kenny Segal) is unsettling but warm, like you know that it can only get better but you have to just sit and deal with the discomfort of your current situation in order to get there.
Thereās a delicate piano melody that fades in and out of the mix alongside the faint hum of a guitar making what is in concept a experimental rap song into something different, the ārappingā is more like spoken word poetry. Benjamin Bookers intro despite being repetitive due to his relaying of āI was only a dove, only in loveā is made so powerful due to how worn out and whispery his voice is, like itās a memory of a loved one haunting you.
Which in turn fades into billy woodsā verse which reads more like poetry than a rap verse. Some of my favourite lines being: āThey called like "Come now, he doesn't have long to live", I dress slowly, Came back that night and took my baby out the crib so I could hold himā or āLocked doors never had a key but you test the handle occasionally, God forbid it swing openā āAttic stairs broken, don't go up there, From the windows i watch the diggers disappear in soft wet earth, Dinner served, i waited for my guests, long table set.ā Itās so bleak but perfectly describes the little moments of discomfort you feel when losing someone and I think it works perfectly combined with how minimalistic the production is.
The closing segment from ELUCID is a lot grander in scale and thematically darker, the production starts to get corrupted with static crackles slowly consuming each layer of the instrumental whilst ELUCID foretells the impending end. Itās a sucker punch that catches you out but it works due to how the song is structured all the emotions caused by loss are only told about up until this point and ELUCIDs part represents the listener tackling them head-on. Itās uncomfortable and youāll probably skip it on relisten (hell I often do) but I think itās purpose is so powerful and as a whole the song is incredibly thought provoking.
Apr 13, 2025
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My school did a workshop about it when I was like 10 and I think the amount of care and dedication it takes to hand crafting each and every frame is so cool. When its done well you get a really stylised films, Iām thinking like Chicken Run, Wallace and Gromit, Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, ParaNorman and The Box Trolls all of which I loved as a kid and every time I rewatch them I get the same sense of childlike wonder I did when I watched them the first time. I know thereās a lot of crossover with CGI now when making them but just the concept of stop motion animation is really cool.
Apr 13, 2025
I have a memory of being hungover in a McDonaldās being surrounded by middlesborough fans, listening to this song through shitty earbuds and it was a weirdly dreamlike moment. Now every time I hear this song I think of that moment.
Apr 25, 2025
This is gonna be a bit long but. Iām 20 about to turn 21 in a month, from York in England. I am about to graduate from university in July and submitted my dissertation 12 hours ago. I have no idea what I want to do after I graduate and thatās fine. I do media and cultural studies as I find people the habits they form and the stories they tell to be interesting. I think my interest stems from being an only child and not having adequate socialisation from an early age so i ended up consuming a lot of media, either that or autism idk man.
My friends say Iām funny, compassionate and give good advice. I also overthink and apologise way too much. I discovered the mock northern English accent I do is basically ripped straight from my grandma who died when I was young. I told someone that and they said āitās like sheās living on through youā which made me uncomfortable. I am an extrovert but I struggle with my own self confidence so I donāt break out of my shell that often. I started to write stand-up comedy which people found to be funny, but I realised that it wasnāt something I wouldāve like to done seriously as I think Iād start to hate it.
Music is my biggest passion, I played the trumpet growing up and I started to learn the guitar 2 years ago and I barely play as itās at my parents house. I ran a music blog on TikTok that got 4k followers and I met and worked with some cool people. Iād like to make music but I know I canāt sing, that doesnāt stop some people though. And I can only write parody songs. My favourite artists/bands are: LCD Soundsystem, Cameron Winter, Clairo, Blood Orange, King Krule, MIKE, billy woods & Black Country, New Road.
Iām Bi although thatās not really true I say that because it makes people more accepting generally, I realised that I donāt care about gender in a partner as long as their is some romantic connection. I didnāt realise I was gay but people around me assumed I was. Iāve only been in one relationship in my life, and not been on many dates. I probably have the most embarrassing first kiss story out there, so much so I donāt count it as my first.
The best thing I learnt in therapy and something that I tell everyone one is that you should focus on what you can control within your own life and not to care about how other people perceive you, donāt do things just for the sake of validation and donāt avoid things because your scared of looking lame or being judged.
2d ago