Tomberlin’s Self-Help – lifted from the Louisville, Kentuckian songwriter’s début album, At Weddings – comprises a mere eighty-four words, but quite incredibly, each and every one quietly vies for your attention. And, from lyrics that belie her years (“The heart is a heavy coffin/ Where I lay down everyone I love”) to rather more humorous stuff (“I used the self-help book to kill a fly/ I think it worked, mom; I think I’m fine”), it’s not only caught but kept across the course of 197 seconds flush with feeling. Factor in defiant guitar lines and backing vocals courtesy of a certain Owen Pallett, and you’ve a very essential listen to wrap your ears around right here, right now…
At Weddings is available from August 10th via Saddle Creek.