Gold in the Shadow

by William Fitzsimmons

Overview

Perhaps it goes without saying that William Fitzsimmons, with his sotto voce vocals and avalanche of facial hair, bears more than a few similarities to fellow folksinger Iron & Wine. Fitzsimmons never sounds as rustic as his bearded doppelgaenger, though, choosing to avoid Iron & Wine's pastoral lyrics and focus his own songs on personal problems. On Gold in the Shadow, he makes peace with inner demons over a sympathetic soundtrack of acoustic guitar, percussion, and bubbling keyboard. The lyrics run the gamut from despondent ("Cut me open, please") to wearily confident ("Wounded head, you will be fine/Your weary legs will hold you in time), but the music is almost aggressively balanced, with BPMs that rarely stray beyond the midtempo mark and dynamics that are rarely too soft or too loud. Fitzsimmons keeps things moving at a steady pace, and he strings the songs together with light touches of electronica, from the gauzy synths in "Let You Break" (a duet with Julia Stone) to the programmed stomp-and-clap percussion of "Psychasthenia." The result is an album that soothes without smoothing over its own emotional content. [Gold in the Shadow was also released in a double-disc deluxe package, featuring five unreleased tunes and several acoustic tracks that strip the keyboards away from Fitzsimmons' guitar-and-vocals bedrock.] ~ Andrew Leahey

Product Details

Release Date:	04/16/2011
Label:	NETTWERK RECORDS
UPC:	0067003092111

Album Credits

Performance Credits

William Fitzsimmons   Primary Artist,Vocals,Keyboards,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Leigh Nash   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Julia Stone   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Jay Clifford   Piano,Wurlitzer,Guitar (Acoustic)
Jill King   Viola
Laura DiStasi   Vocals
Josh Kaler   Bass,Banjo,Bells,Drums,Piano,Guitar,Banjolin,Mandolin,Harmonium,Keyboards,Wurlitzer,Percussion,Pedal Steel,Synthesizer,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Grace Read   Vocals
Brent Price   Violin
Nick Jenkins   Percussion
Frances Hsieh   Violin
Nathan Kogi   French Horn
Norbert Lewandowski   Cello

Technical Credits

Cason Cooley   Vocal Engineer
Jay Clifford   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Horn Arrangements,String Arrangements
Luke Kelly   Engineer
Josh Kaler   Effects,Engineer,Producer,Programming,Horn Arrangements
William Fitzsimmons   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Programming,Additional Production
Eric Rickert   Engineer
Gail Marowitz   Photography,Package Design
Josh Bonati   Mastering
Erin Brown   Photography