Brian Carpenter & the Confessions - The Far End of the World (2015)

The debut album from Brian Carpenter and the Confessions finds the leader's weary yet melodic voice carrying timeless tales of lost love, memory, and desire, wandering lyrically across an arid yet fertile American landscape. Melding styles from '50s balladry to reverb-drenched spaghetti western music, The Far End of the World will appeal to fans of music as diverse as Johnny Cash, Wilco, and the Velvet Underground. Joined by violinist/singer Carla Kihlstedt of the Tin Hat Trio for many of the tracks, and backed by an ace crew of Boston musicians, Florida-born Carpenter unfurls an eerie and seductive tapestry of sound and words in songs that seem less like they were written than like they emerged from a vivid imaginary landscape.