Media

John Vanderslice: "Too Much Time" (MP3)

4:25 p.m. · April 29, 2009 · by Jenna Humphrey

John Vanderslice just released letter-pressed wallets with analog tape from recording sessions for the first 100 fans to pre-order the new album Romanian Names, out May 19. The second MP3 to release off of this album, “Too Much Time,” sounds way more digital than analog, though. The prodigal narrator of this song is rolling up his mat, gathering his pots and pans, and otherwise becoming a vagabond of perhaps the figurative variety -- vagabonds don’t typically deliver such perfect production. (You won’t find this level of clarity in an AA meeting.) The strings and keyboard fit neatly into Vanderslice’s cream-hued schema, a montage hurled from the comfortable upper heights of designer indie. Maybe this is the suffering vagrant’s tale, but it is sung by someone who’s art actually benefits from finer things. We don’t believe him completely, but then again, what is pillow talk for?

Vanderslice’s new label, Dead Oceans, is scheduled to release Romanian Names on May 19.