Mary Lattimore
"Collected Pieces"
(Ghostly (ASTERISK)(ASTERISK)(ASTERISK))
Philadelphia's loss is Los Angeles' gain, as harpist Mary Lattimore moved west before the release of this six-track, often disquietingly beautiful set of songs recorded in her former apartment. Mixed by longtime collaborator Jeff Ziegler, the instrumentals recorded over five years are plucked on her 47-string harp. The song treatments reflect her classical training and _ not surprising coming from a musician who has backed up Kurt Vile and Sharon Van Etten, among others _ an indie-rock sensibility and taste for echo and noise. As well as being a uniquely skilled musician who ranks behind only Joanna Newsom in the harp-star pop pantheon, Lattimore _ whose previous album, "At the Dam," was recorded during a cross-country trip in a Volvo station wagon and named after a Joan Didion essay _ is also something of a marketing genius. If you want people to listen to 10-minute-plus harp instrumentals, it can be a good idea to give them evocative, curiosity-piquing titles like the haunting "It Was Late and We Watched the Motel Burn," and the becalming "Wawa By the Ocean," inspired by her favorite beachside convenience store in Ship Bottom, N.J.
_Dan DeLuca
