Half-Handed Cloud
Thy Is a Word & Feet Need Lamps
Asthmatic Kitty
2005
Rating: 7 sudden thunderstorms out of 10
Half-Handed Cloud aka John Ringhofer is a weird dude in the best possible way, and slowly crowning himself the crown prince of short, quirky pop songs (we all know Robert Pollard is the king and no one is even close to challenging that position). This album is like the holy grail of nutty non-bothersome-to-secular-folk jesus rock. Ringhofer plays a thousand different instruments, and in being part of Sufjan Stevens band, he manages to get Stevens to return the favor so he plays on this album and contributes plenty to it's weirdness. The record was mixed by label mate Daniel Smith aka Danielson, completing the triumvirate of tolerable christian popsters, and it would all creep me the hell out if they weren’t all such damn great musicians and songwriters. I don’t even know how to describe the music – think of the quirkiest pop songs you’ve ever heard, add a half dozen kid’s toy instruments on top of it, make the lyrics about the old testament, and you’re kinda close. I like it a lot, but it may not be for everyone.
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