Palace Music - Arise Therefore

After the leap forward of Viva Last Blues this is something of a regressive step.  It's a sparse collection of songs with the prominent addition of a drum machine (!).  Most of the songs simply have a slight rumbling bass, Will Oldham's whiny voice, drum machine and little else.  Some of the highlights are the very muted A Sucker's Evening, and the title track, which features a welcome drop of guitar.  No Gold Digger is probably the closest thing to any kind of 'proper' song with a kind of full sound on the album.  On other tracks like Kid of Harith and Disorder, Oldham's fast-and-loose-with-any-form-of melody vocals are inclined to grate.  For the uninitiated, this is really no place to start!