| Thalia Zedek Band - Liars and Prayers |
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| Written by Jason Ferguson | |
 Thalia Zedek BandLiars and Prayers [Thrill Jockey] Get It at Amazon  Thalia Zedek should be the Patti Smith for the Nirvana generation, praised far and wide for her raw, street-worn blues poetry. Instead, the Nirvana generation got PJ Harvey and was happy with it. Perhaps they deserve it. Yet, in a just world, Zedek’s evolution – from Uzi to Live Skull to Come to her solo work – would be mileposts in an epochal career. Her latest album is her first since 2004, and finds her continuing to redefine the collision of gutter-rat pain and exceptional elegance. While complex instrumentation and arrangements are brought to bear, the essence here – especially on tracks like “Lower Allston” and “Come Undone” – is that particularly Zedek-ian melodic sensibility that makes her work so instantly recognizable. It’s simultaneously epic and downtrodden, and when accentuated by Zedek’s rough-hewn voice, it’s a completely marvelous thing. This is the blues performed without a hint of I-IV-V regression, rendered both beautiful and horrific in a way that only the inimitable Zedek could pull off. |
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