The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers: "homemade neo-folk indie-pop"

It's a good thing Perry Wright can write such gorgeous music and assemble such a stellar array of musician pals to record it, because it would be awfully easy to drown in the sheer verbiage that surrounds his projects. Consider that Wright's group/collective is called "The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers", and that their new album is The Mother of Love Emulates the Shapes of Cynthia. [Review] Then throw in this kind of WTF description:

The album considers the serial nature of things as they move within the flux of time, ephemeral as they are. Taken from Galileo’s encoded dissolution of the Ptolemaic theory and announcement of the heliocentric nature of the solar system, the title suggests the seasonal movement of all things.

But none of that matters, because the music is so fine. Emerging from his bedroom, Wright enlists members of Go Machine (remember them from last week?), former Sixpence None the Richer drummer Dale Baker, and various others to bring his delicate songs to life. I don't suppose you can write about these guys at the present moment without some mention of Conor Oberst/Bright Eyes, so consider him mentioned.

MP3: "Concerning Lessons Learned from the Aliens"
--a nice blend of organic (guitar, bells) and electronic (drum machine)
MP3: "Cannot Eat Better Not Sleep"
--starts quietly, crescendos nicely, then fades away in a wash of strings
(from The Mother of Love Emulates the Shapes of Cynthia, Bu Hanan 2005. Released March 1, preorder here.)

MP3: "The Sun Fell on You"
--hushed guitar and vocals
(from Psalterie, Bu Hanan 2003 [?]. Sold out, sadly.)

MP3: "An Unexpected Song"
--this gets downright peppy.
MP3: "Billie Jean (Drunken Bombast One Take)"
--attention Copy, Right? ! Did you ever think this song could be a mournful ballad?
(unreleased tracks, more available here)