Jay Bennett & Edward Burch — The Palace At 4am (Part I)

This collaboration between ex-Wilco member Jay Bennett and Edward Burch was first completed in 2002, but only just released here in Canada. We didn’t know what we were missing. Given Bennett’s Wilco pedigree, one would expect a somewhat similar alt.country sound. This is partly true, as some songs, like "My Darlin’" became part of the Wilco repertoire. However, more often than not, Bennett and Burch achieve a densely melodic and more folk-pop driven sound as found in the rollicking "Talk To Me" and tender "Little White Cottage." The duo’s voices blend together beautifully, with Bennett taking the lead and Burch providing unswervingly solid harmonization. This was truly worth the wait.

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