Far Now, The

Hypnotic, romantic, country-inflected indie pop. Male vocals, usually multitracked or in harmony. Gentle but often existential or even leaning toward Nihilism. That is, heavy. Mostly guitar & electronics, plus strings and a bit of piano. Kilgour co-founded The Clean, one of the iconic New Zealand rock bands of the ’80s. His band for this record is Lambchop (they’ve backed him on tour) so you know the arrangements are subtle & deep. A gorgeous album. Play with Robyn Hitchcock, John Lennon, The Clean, The Church, Jessica Bailiff, Arab Strap, Lou Reed, Luna. FCC clean. Start with 3, 7, 11, 12.

1. Dreamy, hypnotic, lush pop. “She is the sun.” Clever lyric starts out sounding Christian. Starts quietly with guitar arpeggio, then quickly fades up with a zap of low synth. Quick fade.
2. Bouncy country pop, complete with falsetto “oh, oh’s” in the chorus. “You been up all night. You look like you’re fried.” Starts with some drum noise, then slide guitar. Fades.
==> 3. Gorgeous, romantic pop ballad, quite reminiscent of The Church. Starts with strummed guitar. Slow fade.
4. Rolling rock ballad. Evocative of Lou Reed. Starts cold with vocal “I got drunk.” Gets a bit noisier toward end, then ends cold.
5. Dreamy ballad. Vocals very evocative of John Lennon’s solo records. Starts cold with harmony vocals. Slow fade.
6. Repetitive, existential ballad. “No matter what happens, you’re on your own.” Stars cold with vocal. Fades with strings.
==> 7. Slow, rolling ballad with echoey vocals (mixed low) and fluttery electronics. Starts with electronics & piano. Slow fade.
8. Bluesy solo acoustic guitar ballad, with some soft background electronics. Starts with a bit of electronics, then acoustic guitar. Fades.
9. Superficially happy but lyrically dark & existential pop song. Starts with perky acoustic guitar. Fades.
10. Lush, downtempo ballad with strings & electric organ. Starts with quiet electronics. Fades.
==> 11. Delicate, very Lambchop-sounding ballad. Starts with guitar. Slows and fades on electronics.
==> 12. Quiet, melancholy instrumental that becomes intense. Starts with guitar. Fades.