Freaky-deaky acid folk ... Lieder? Awesome Chicagoan Foster sings a set of seven German lieder (by Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, and Wolf), accompanying herself on guitar, in, putting it lightly, a highly untraditional way. Some of the songs are given a treatment that'll be familiar from her previous solo albums and Born Heller (and Supposed guitarist Brian Goodman appears on a few tracks), but others, especially six, are utterly unexpected. This is a really fantastic, innovative, interesting album; very atmospheric, and Foster's singing is excellent. Everyone should play it.

Best: 6, 1, 2

**1: overdubbed and out of synch vox for a far-away ghostly sound; Goodman contributes a slow psychy electric guitar solo that seems to have nothing to do with the rest of the track but absolutely fits.
2: Stately melody; Nicoesque singing; a capella middle; ends with soloing.
3: Emerges out of swirls, understated. Kind of spacy (not in a space-rock way).
4: Sounds like there's a creaky floorboard here; sort of a (creepy) back porch feel. Starts after 9 seconds, ends with creaking for a while.
5: Title means "melancholy", which actually applies less to this song than any other on the album. Relatively unadorned guitar and restrainedly soaring vocals. A little harmonica.
**6: Absolutely amazing long (11') song, starts off with ghostly singing. Gradually increasing background thrums and wobbles eventually take over Foster's voice entirely in what's practically slo-mo noise sludge, courtesy Plastic Crimewave.
7: Folky strum-a-long, male background vox.