saw this guy opening up for Low. A gimmick. A fine fingerpicker, but he relies entirely too much on tedious melodies and the idiosyncrasy of his voice.

i totally disagree. i saw this guy last night and he totally blew me away. beautiful songs, heartbreakingly honest lyrics. an all around amazing performance.

I saw this guy open for Jose Gonzalez @ the Brooklyn Lyceum. Getting away from the voice for a sec, the music was very country... almost like Cash or Neko Case but more morbid. His voice is interesting but after a while it got a little tedious. Maybe it's just because I was anxious to hear Jose Gonzalez.

He opened for both Mission of Burma and Os Mutantes. I would simply place him in the "meh" category. No love or hate.

Who hasn't this guy opened for? He opened for Iron & Wine and Calexico too.

I agree with Mr. Bartell. I saw him open for Jose Gonzalez too. He definitely had an interesting voice (for sure sounded like a woman) and a little country in him which caught my interest, but the vocals got grating after a while...maybe he would sound better with a band?

You know what other guy sounds like a chick? The one who sings "So kiss me good-bye" in the chorus of that Cobra Starship song for Snakes on a Plane. Yup, it's a guy singing that.

Is this really even a guy????

Saw him open for Beck last night.

Terrible.

Saw him open for The Books at Vassar. I think 1/2 of the audience covered their mouths with their hands in shock.

I saw him and thought "that poor woman has a moustache!" The crowd was not into him at all when I saw him in San Diego, so I halfheartedly told him "nice set" when I passed him at the bar. I'm actually glad he's getting good reviews because his reception here was embarassing. Indie kids have no respect.

i threw up in my mouth a little. partially because he's so mediocre.

Can you guys really not get over that he sings like a girl? His songs are amazing.

regardless of how he sings, his songs are boring and uninteresting.

using the phrase "i threw up in my mouth a little" is sooooo 2003!

"His songs are amazing"? scrape the shit out of your ears. they're not amazing. They're pedestrian knock-offs of harry smith comps. tired retreads of weird-old americana without an ounce of the passion and immediacy that made people like dock boggs and roscoe holcombe twist your guts.

Anyone comparing Death Vessel to the heights of Dock Boggs sure is a tough customer. Bet you miss livin' in the Dust Bowl and sharecropping. Yeesh...I'd hate to meet you in a dark alley writing music criticism by candlelight....

sounds like cw has a personal bone to pick with death vessel. good lord, you people need some protein in your diets. you clearly reveal your questionable taste when you've paid money to see low or jose gonzalez and end up bashing death vessel. how canyou possibly call this a gimmick when all he is doing is singing and playing guitar? why are you even mentioning harry smith? it's f'ing 2006. it's not as if he claims he's from appalachia or something. he writes pop songs, for freaking sake.

sounds like cw has a personal bone to pick with death vessel. good lord, you people need some protein in your diets. you clearly reveal your questionable taste when you've paid money to see low or jose gonzalez and end up bashing death vessel. how can you possibly call this a gimmick when all he is doing is singing and playing guitar? why are you even mentioning harry smith? it's f'ing 2006. it's not as if he claims he's from appalachia or something. he writes pop songs, for freaking sake.

sounds like cw has a personal bone to pick with death vessel. good lord, you people need some protein in your diets. you clearly reveal your questionable taste when you've paid money to see low or jose gonzalez and end up bashing death vessel. how can you possibly call this a gimmick when all he is doing is singing and playing guitar? why are you even mentioning harry smith? it's f'ing 2006. it's not as if he claims he's from appalachia or something. he writes pop songs, for freaking sake.

sounds like cw has a personal bone to pick with death vessel. good lord, you people need some protein in your diets. you clearly reveal your questionable taste when you've paid money to see low or jose gonzalez and end up bashing death vessel. how can you possibly call this a gimmick when all he is doing is singing and playing guitar? why are you even mentioning harry smith? it's f'ing 2006. it's not as if he claims he's from appalachia or something. he writes pop songs, for freaking sake.

sounds like cw has a personal bone to pick with death vessel. good lord, you people need some protein in your diets. you clearly reveal your questionable taste when you've paid money to see low or jose gonzalez and end up bashing death vessel. how can you possibly call this a gimmick when all he is doing is singing and playing guitar? why are you even mentioning harry smith? it's f'ing 2006. it's not as if he claims he's from appalachia or something. he writes pop songs, for freaking sake.

sounds like cw has a personal bone to pick with death vessel. good lord, you people need some protein in your diets. you clearly reveal your questionable taste when you've paid money to see low or jose gonzalez and end up bashing death vessel. how can you possibly call this a gimmick when all he is doing is singing and playing guitar? why are you even mentioning harry smith? it's f'ing 2006. it's not as if he claims he's from appalachia or something. he writes pop songs, for freaking sake.

i saw DV opening for the album leaf and low at sundance; and after i recovered from the shock of the realization that he was a guy, i was thinking how nice the songs & performance were, fine, i don't know who harry smith or that boggs guy is. people are rude.

This is the most important song writer I have heard in years. Like REM, Nirvana, etc...Even Dylan, this is not the kind of thing that will go Un noticed ...Rock on Death Vessel. Those people who got the chance to see him in a small club will someday be all proud of themselves for seeing Death Vessel in a small venue and never admit they "didnt get it"...Death Vessel is a musical joy...

I'll take Joel and Death Vessel ANY DAY over TV on the Radio, Arcade Fire, Bloc Party, Vampire Weekend, Radiohead, Magnetic Fields, Andrew Bird, and all the other same tired, unimaginative, fashionable shit Pitchfork and Williamsburg hipsters champion month after month. His songs stand up. Nobody's going to remember Vampire Weekend.

His new album is going to blow minds. Easily the album of the year so far!

Has this leaked?

There's an amazing new song on the Sub Pop anniversary compilation that just came out/showed up.

Sooooo psyched for this!

Anyone heard the new record yet?

LEAK ALREADY!

Hey, Death Vessel needs to be heard on record too. The songs are real growers and Joel's voice is a thing of beauty. Those who have seen him as support should consider themselves lucky - I would class any show where he plays first as a double header! He is original and has something unique, let's celebrate that - if you don't like it, shut up and say something positive about someone else instead. Cheers.

not too bad