Glorytellers - Atone

*  Geoff Farina has been making records and touring consistently since the early 90s, and he has carved out small enclaves of dedicated fans across the US, Europe, and Japan. His band KARATE made 9 genre-bending records and toured extensively for 12 years, and the songs he penned with The Secret Stars have reached cult status, covered by the likes of Death Cab for Cutie and Ida.

*  Since 2006, Farina’s Glorytellers have combined Karate’s indie-rock urgency with the Secret Stars’ soft-spoken intimacy to evoke the best qualities of both bands. Atone, Glorytellers’ second release, is a collection of 9 unclassifiable gems that gently unfold with ease and dignity.

*  Atone reaches into all corners of Americana; Echoes of Harry Nilsson’s ‘Everybody’s Talkin’ reverberate through ‘The Keystone’,  Matt Pond recently described the deftly-fingerpicked ‘Just What I Was Thinking’ as ‘Bluegrass Morrissey’. There is even a bawling Walter Horton-style Marine Band that punctuates the bluesy ‘Softly as She Sings’.

*  Despite its junkyard harmonica and fingerpicked steel strings, Atone is what might have been called ‘a catchy indie record’ a decade go. Farina’s colorful lyrics and delicate vocal melodies permeate its charming, buoyant songs. Atone is at once soft-spoken and proud, urgent and at ease, and its vivid narratives resonate more with each listen.

*  Tracklist: 1. The Lost Half Mile 2. Fours 3. Concaves 4. Blue Flag 5. Black Maria 6. Softly As She Sings 7. Hawaiian Sunshine 8. Omni Stars 9. Coldest War.

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