Alexander Tucker

We've been mapping Mr. Tucker in the folk/country category since his 2005 debut, Old Fog, because instrumentally and tonally, he seemed closest kin to its skewed uncles like John Fahey and Incredible String Band. On Dorwytch (his first album for Thrill Jockey), new wrinkles such as drums by improv artist Paul May and production/instrumentation by Daniel O'Sullivan (Aethenor/Ulver) draw new rock-strewn paths across those lines. The drone/loop instrumentals that bracketed previous albums have been absorbed into the songs, to wondrous effect. References, both direct and parallel, to Alan Moore's occult musings continue to creep into Tucker's lyrics, assuring us that something magical is driving our "reality." Many of the acoustic guitar- and string-driven tracks suggest a fusing of Plant's madrigals and Page's Crowley fetishes could have created an even more spell-laden Zeppelin III. Luckily, Tucker has finally taken care of that oversight on his best album to date.