Wovenhand - The Threshingfloor (2010)

The Threshingfloor, the fifth long-player from the David Eugene Edwards-led Rocky Mountain shapeshifters Woven Hand, dials the Pentecostal fervor and Native American vision questing up a notch or two higher than on 2008’s more traditional, rock-oriented Ten Stones did, offering up an evocative ten-track set that blends the fire and brimstone verbosity of Nick Cave with the sinewy, Eastern mysticism of Led Zeppelin III. Edwards, ever the fevered, wiry conduit of Christianity's more authoritative side, sounds like a feral, carnival-barking Jim Morrison (had the Lizard King found Christ instead of Dionysius), and he peppers his evocative tales of sin, glory, torment, and redemption with characters and parables from testaments old and new. Steeped in non-regional folk music (Middle Eastern, Celtic, gospel, and country), yet retaining enough rock & roll might to turn heads, standout cuts like the hypnotic, drone-heavy opener "Sinking Hands," the expansive, penny whistle-led "Terre Haute," the sweet, stoic, and lovely "His Rest," and the churning, serpentine title cut transcend any non-secular trappings by simply being great songs.