Grace Notes: Jay Tholen, Either/Orwell

Last updated on: August 20, 2011 at 11:04 pm by Jason Morehead

Grace Notes: Jay Tholen, Either/Orwell 2011-08-20T23:04:02-06:00 Jason Morehead

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Grace Notes is a weekly exploration by Jason Morehead of signs of common grace in the music world. We hope to alert you to wonderful music, some of which will be spiritual in nature but all of which will be unique and worthy of your attention. Each week we will share brief reviews of albums worthy of your attention and maybe a video or two.

Jay Tholen

Jay Tholen, whose “chiptune gospel” album Control Me left me floored earlier this year, is back with a new full-length titled Mud Pies or Bread and Wine?. It’s rough around the edges — Tholen himself describes it as “loose” and “crusty” — but even those songs that don’t fully come together are still full of fascinating moments. However, when everything does click, the result is some of the most brilliant, bizarre music to emerge from Christian circles this side of Soul-Junk. “Jesus is Real, He’ll Never Fail” features video-game bleeps, dubby Middle-Eastern textures, and samples of old gospel recordings, all of which make for a mind-bending experience. His cover of Dan Zimmerman’s “Secret Name” (my fave track) blends cryptic lyrics with an 8-bit orchestral groove like you wouldn’t believe (as well as a little synth-reggae swagger). Finally, “Though Lamps Are Dark” runs a sample from a children’s prayer book CD through some auto-tune, and crafts a haunting plea for God’s comfort and peace. What’s important to realize, though, is that Tholen isn’t simply making weird music for it’s own sake: there’s a devout heart beating at the core of these songs, as well as a sense of joy and worship that is pretty infectious and moving.

Either/Orwell

Vocalist/guitarist Jeff MacKey — who you might recognize from the excellent post-punk/ambient group Writ On Water (and if you’ve never heard of Writ On Water, you’d do well to check them out, particularly 1992’s Sylph and 2008’s A Wingless King) — recently announced a new group titled Either/Orwell that focuses more on the ambient end of the musical spectrum, a la Stars Of The Lid or Hammock. No proper release has been announced, but you can hear several tracks on Either/Orwell’s MySpace page. I’m particularly fond of “Vermontana” and “To Establish, To Release And Then To Recede”, which introduce some interesting and affecting melodic structures into the group’s contemplative, long form drones and atmospherics.

Previous Post

August 20, 2011

God's Grace in a Cup of Tea

Next Post

August 22, 2011 Parents and Their Precious Idols

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Asides Elsewhere Featured Film Games General Culture Headline Literature Music Of the Moment Podcast Politics RetroPost Sports Technology Television Uncategorized Viral

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz