Hush Records
2006
The Unsung Colony
About This Album
The Unsung Colony begins and ends with the sound of film threading through a projector -- a perfect effect to bookend songs that play out like scenes from old home movies and carry commensurate emotional weight. The record's wistful melodies breathe life into memories whose fading edges belie their power over us, and the narratives give voice to characters too reserved or thoughtful to be heard above the narcissistic rabble that dominates modern culture. It may strike some as quaint to consider the power of memory and history in this age of instant analysis, but this is no nostalgia act. Norfolk & Western may incorporate gramophones and banjos into their music, quote the Beatles and prefer to tour by train, but The Unsung Colony's message couldn't be timelier: understanding only comes through genuine reflection.

Will anyone hear or heed the message? Let's hope so, because The Unsung Colony's myriad subtle strengths add up to something quite grand and beautiful. This sonic gem builds on the more assured full-band sound Adam Selzer's been assembling since Norfolk & Western's humble beginning as his solo project in 1998. Working with the same ten-piece band that graced their excellent EP, A Gilded Age, Norfolk & Western don't so much expand their audio palette as polish it to a brilliant sheen.
Track List (try tracks 2,4,5,8 and 9)

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