Vic Chesnutt is a pretty remarkable musician. His distinctive voice and folk guitar styling is par none, and he is often accompanied by the most notable of artists no matter what the genre. Chesnutt recently released just such an album called At The Cut which featured Guy Picciotto (Fugazi) and members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. While that record may have garnered him a bit of press, he slipped in a sleeper for the die-hard folk fans. Yes, he also released Skitter To Take-Off.

Produced by Jonathan Richman and Tommy Larkin, Skitter To Take-Off is Chesnutt as his most soul-bearing. You can hear it in his voice on high points “Feast In The Time Of Plague”, “Rips In The Fabric” and “Society Sue”. The only accompaniment here is Richman (guitar, harmonium) and Larkin (drums), and their presence, too, is scarce. These somewhat minimal tunes were recorded as such, with no overdubs – yet the power behind them remains. If you thought Chesnutt was good with full accompaniment, just wait ’til you hear him on his own. It takes a true musician to captivate the listener in such an instance, and on Skitter On Take-Off Chesnutt more than succeeds at that.

Vic is heading out on tour in support of Skitter On Take-Off and At The Cut. Head over to Chesnutt’s website for the tour dates.

Vic Chesnutt: Society Sue [mp3]

Vapor Records [CD, 2009]

1. Feast In The Time Of Plague
2. Unpacking My Suitcase
3. Dimples
4. Rips In The Fabric
5. Society Sue
6. My New Life
7. Dick Cheney
8. Worst Friend
9. Sewing Machine