DM Stith – Curtain Speech

Curtain Speech must have been created in utmost secrecy – little bits being softly spoken and played into a microphone in passing. The EP’s mysterious title gives a clue to the sound that it contains. There is certainly a filter that obscures the noise – the “curtain” could refer to a stage curtain that obstructs the album’s true action, or an inconspicuous household curtain. In the case of the latter there would be some sort of murmur that happening in the corner of the room by the window panes. In any event, there is a veil that hovers over the EP that dulls a distinct message.

Asthmatic Kitty’s newest addition, DM Stith, promises much with this initial EP. The label’s website explains it well, saying, “Stith’s debut comes in the form of Curtain Speech, an aptly titled EP that comes as an introductory tease for his forth-coming full-length Heavy Ghost.” Stith employs a few familiar faces from AK, including Sufjan Stevens and Sharen Worden (My Brightest Diamond), but their presence is a whisper that barely touches the album’s surface.

Stith comes from a very musical family, but most of his experience is in writing and illustration. His keen eye is something that is carried into the musical world that he creates. Vivid imagery punctuates the austere soundscape that Stith effortlessly constructs. This is achieved by somber and wistful, yet quirky, piano and ghostly vocals. Lyrics are never a primary focus, but rather a feature that decorates a song’s mood.

The EP opens with the melancholy “Around the Lion Legs.” The song is inched forward by a circling piano and lazy acoustic guitar. Its noise implicates love as a dangerous dance around tender subjects. Like a slow motion game of Duck, Duck, Goose, the song runs around in the slow confusion that years of knowing a person has created. Stith hums with restrained urgency, “Why now/ You ask me why I try to ruin everything?” However, the control of the song inevitably falters, and the song waltzes strongly as Stith and a chorus of voices sing, “These things cannot be taken back/ I know I know.” A careless squeaking is played as the song’s noise disappears as mysteriously as it came.

“Around the Lion Legs” is followed by the EP’s title track – a short meander through a reverberating and stark dream. The song serves as a representation (rather than an explanation) of “curtain speech” and transition into the album’s darker intentions.

”Just Once” immediately begins with an eerily tense acoustic guitar place, punctuated by a fluttering and descending triplet guitar breath. There is something malevolently playful in songs such as “Around the Lion Legs” and “Just Once.” This is partially due to a distinct balance that these songs achieve. Often very serious content is being viewed through a childish lens. Wistful piano chords give way to moments of tension. Creaking doors open to reveal a malicious presence. In “Just Once,” this malicious force is at its most exposed. Tension does not dissipate, but is expanded on by various string instruments. This menace is expanded by the dripping cold and clear voice that obsessively asks, “Just once, just once, just once/ Did you love me once?” Eventually, the album’s longest (and most carefully orchestrated) song takes flight, and gains some apparent momentum with the addition of a romping bass drum. This excitement is a brief flare-up, that gives way to the isolation of the songs opening, as the words “I’ll make you better,” are creepily murmured.

After another wistfully curious musical interlude (entitled “Hoarse Sorrows And The Whole Blind Earth…”), the 17 and a half-minute EP closes with the confusing “Abraham’s Song (Firebird),” which departs from prior intimacy and explores obscure mythological imagery as Stith says, “Heavy hammer/ Heavy ghost/ Firebird, firebird firebird.” The song abruptly ends short with little explanation.

Curtain Speech leaves the listener with a fleeting notion – a feeling that something has occurred out of the corner of their eye. The EP brushes up against consciousness, and makes one subtly curious of Stith’s full capabilities.

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