2007

Melodie & Rhythmus, CD review "The Things That Count" 01/2008

In Nashville, music is recorded fast. A lot of the time, the first takes are keepers. Some Europeans don’t appreciate that method, some love it. To them, Nashville equals magic.

Markus Rill from Würzburg has once again taken the trip to Tennessee, this time to record his new album „The Things That Count“ with producer Richard McLaurin. Things worked out excellent. The album’s twelve country and folk pop tunes are great, melancholic musings. Between the vicinity of Bob Seger and Tom Waits’s vocal scruffiness Rill often sounds lonesome, thoughtful and lost in himself. Mandolins, acoustic & electric guitars accompany him in atmospheric US folk fashion.

„The Things That Count“ is the fitting soundtrack for shitty weather days, for moments in which you want to come off of your cloud without necessarily getting sad. These songs are cozy as a winter coat, making the listener feel well – that’s how far it goes. A beautiful record.
(ebh)