Reincarnate Music
2006
Let It Roll
About This Album
The Willard Grant Conspiracy really do "let it roll" on their sixth full-length studio effort, loosening up their well-established, stately, gothic Americana sound. While their music still has a somber, brooding feel, the group punctuates their sprawling songs with some squalling guitars. With its tracks averaging over six minutes, this disc might best capture Willard Grant's live show dynamics. Not surprisingly, the band did this recording in the middle of a European tour. The album starts off in rather familiar Willard Grant territory. The solemn opening tune, "Distance Shore" finds Willard Grant ringmaster Robert Fisher's signature deep, rich vocals intertwining with Dennis Cronin's solitary trumpet and Josh Hillman's mournful violin to create a haunting tale told from a battlefield soldier's point-of-view. It also sets up the ominous sense of morality that pervades the entire disc, as references to life and death, heaven and hell, and angels and skeletons surface throughout the songs. With the second tune, the nine-minute-plus title track, Fisher and company (WGC is a large collective of musicians) do some significant sonic stretching. The intense "Let It Roll" commences with a near-three-minute electric guitar and violin-fueled maelstrom and retains its power while dipping and soaring across a dark soundscape.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 7)

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