2011 - A year in review

# 3. Jonathan Wilson - Gentle Spirit
(Bella Union, September 13th 2011)

First of all, I'm still alive - and I plan to reawaken this blog from it's slumber now. So I'll just continue where I left, with the countdown of 2011's best records.

Now over a year has past since Jonathan Wilson's album Gentle Spirit was released - in that year, the album has probably become even more of a favourite of mine. It is just one of these timeless pieces of music that seems like they have always been there. It's epic, it's low key, it's really really emotional.

I first came upon Wilsons music some years ago when I started to check out some of the musicans that seemed to pop up on all my favourite records the last years. Jonathan Wilson was a name that was all over some of those records. The solo album by Gary Louris, the second Jenny Lewis album, Vetiver albums and collaborations with people like Chris Robinson and Elvis Costello. I got a hold of his first album, Frankie Ray, and I was completely sold.

Gentle Spirit is still kind of his "real" solo debut. He plays almost every instrument on every song himself but still it sounds really intimate and close - like it's played in a living room among great friends.

A stunning album, which I will probably write more about in the future. For now, this is it - and the blog is back!