Sixpence None the Richer - "The Fatherless and the Widow"

Sixpence None the Richer - The Fatherless and the Widow

1994, REX

1. Field of Flowers

2. Spotlight

3. The Fatherless and the Widow

4. Musings

5. Trust

6. Falling Leaves

7. Meaningless

8. Soul

9. An Apology

10. Trust (Reprise)

When this album came out I had been branching out into more styles of music than just metal and rap. I think this was the mellowest thing I ever tried. It was a little bit of a gear shift at the time, but I'm glad I took a chance on these guys. This is some tragic and beautiful music right here. Infused with equal parts melancholy and wonder the songs are amazing. Backed by Matt Slocum's ethereal guitar style and Leigh's voice, which is angelic. I also enjoy the C.S. Lewis inspired lyrics as well. I think "Trust" (both versions) is right up there in terms of sheer beauty. While the band did continue to improve I still love this debut - definitely worth a look.

Useless Fact: This disc originally came out on an imprint of REX called REX populi. It was supposed to be an imprint for REX to put out some mellower stuff but I think only a few records came out on it. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's just the first pressings of this disc have the "populi" on it - the rest have the plain ol' REX label.