Albums by this artist

The Kingsbury Manx (2000)

The Kingsbury Manx

The Kingsbury Manx

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» JONATHAN COHEN | SENIOR EDITOR

The Kingsbury Manx The Kingsbury Manx Overcoat, 2000 RiYL: low-key Beatles, Luna, Sam Prekop, American Analog Set

The Kingsbury Manx's self-titled debut album arrives shrouded in tiny mysteries. The liner notes list no band members' names, and the song titles aren't numbered. And once spun, the disc presents an even more intriguing question: how this seemingly anonymous North Carolina group can create such a compelling album on its first try.

The warm hues of acoustic guitars and vintage keyboards color the record without going too heavy on either. On tracks such as "New Old Friend Blues" and the slide guitar-laden, George Harrison-esque "Fanfare," the band evokes the kind of rustic charm that marked Pink Floyd's Ummagumma or even the Beatles' "White Album." Melodically, the Kingsbury Manx put fresh spins on these and more contemporary influences, particularly on the dreamy instrumental "Blue Eurasians" and the lo-fi, a cappella strains of "Hawaii In Ten Seconds."

Lovely closer "Silver Trees" recalls the understated songcraft plied by the Sea & Cake's Sam Prekop on his 1999 solo album, while the string-tinged "Piss Diary" hearkens back to images of lazy Sunday afternoons spent enjoying the natural beauty of ones surroundings.

Punctuated by the group's ear-pleasing harmonic sensibility (see gorgeous opener "Pageant Square"), the album reveals its subtle charms on repeated listens. Perfect for melting winter's chill, outside and in.

JONATHAN COHEN | Jonathan Cohen co-created Nude As The News with his Indiana University mates Troy Carpenter and Ben French. When not traversing the globe for business and pleasure, he holds down the fort as a senior editor for Billboard in New York. Stop him and he just may ask, "what for lunch?"