ARTIST: Tsui
TITLE: Half Man Army
LABEL: Self Released
GENRE: Indie
BITRATE: 193kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 38m total
RELEASE DATE: 2007-01-00
RIP DATE: 2007-01-07
Track List
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1. Shorthand 2:31
2. Metal Birds 3:51
3. Of Clouds And Freight Trains 4:02
4. Dead Letters 4:39
5. Over And Over Again 4:24
6. The Softest Expanse 4:37
7. I Could've Been A Ghost Town 4:15
8. Half Man Army 3:30
9. Ms. Is On The Phone 2:47
10. Sleep Talking In A Pale Blue 4:09
Sky
Release Notes:
Indie folk rock with the sensitive soul of Elliott Smith and Bright Eyes.
After his departure from indie/folk band Jr. Corduroy, Brooklyn based songwriter
Mark Kraus began writing and recording in various living rooms, sublets, and
makeshift studios in New York, Boston, and LA. This would lay the ground work
for what would later become known as Tsui. Often performing in small Brooklyn
bars and clubs, Tsui is a delicate union of Kraus and other musicians, who sow
together intimate performances that often silence the rooms in which they
inhabit. TsuiÆs music demands the attention of the listener through itÆs
softness rather than itÆs volume.
The debut LP from TsuiùHalf Man Army (2007)ùis a minor masterpiece of home and
studio recordings. The songs are lyrically mature, quirky and unconventional,
the melodies rich but are often tempered by the frail vocals. The songs invoke a
pinning lonesomeness, some recorded deliberately sparse while others layed with
strings and analog sounds, all without ever becoming overly self-indulgent. On
previous efforts with Jr. Corduroy, Kraus has worked with producers and
engineers such as Dave Auchenbach and Eric Masanaga often times striving to
recreate the intimacy of his home recordings. This is his ?rst self recorded and
produced effort.