No Harm Done

Over the course of nearly 20 years and a discography full of gems, Josephine Foster has quietly stayed on the outskirts as one of the strongest talents of her wave of American folk music. Songs guided by her trembling yet powerful voice serve as a link from 60s outsiders like Karen Dalton and Patty Waters to Fosters underclassmen like Weyes Blood and Big Thief. No Harm Done continues the old-timey, country-flecked approach Foster grew into after her sparser folksy beginnings. Along with key contributions from guitarist Matthew Schneider, Foster creates a warm, open atmosphere with these eight songs, tempering the auburn sadness at the core of her songwriting with light, almost drunkenly swaying instrumentals. Schneiders pedal steel stands out on The Wheel of Fortune, clearing the path for Fosters lonely hearted vocals and string bass to amble forward in a melancholic trudge. Much of No Harm Done follows a similar slow-and-steady pace. Foster harmonizes with herself on Conjugal Bliss over a backdrop of shambling autoharp and acoustic guitar, sounding like a lost wire recording from an anonymous 1930s Appalachian artist. The lamenting saloon balladry of tracks like How Come, Honeycomb? or Love Letter are closer to the style Foster explored most thoroughly on her woozy 2013 album Im a Dreamer. She sounds at home in these loose and hazy songs of heartache and yearning, with the airy production of the album adding to the pleasant blurriness embodied by Fosters vocal performances. No Harm Done is equally crushing and tender, landing in a very specific class of albums that includes Karen Daltons In My Own Time, Bonny Prince Billys Lie Down in the Light and the distant beauty of Vashti Bunyans often-overlooked 2005 classic Lookaftering. The songs bleed into one another and the entire album washes by like a slow-moving September afternoon, as Foster floats through sadness, devotion, regret, and wonder without ever once touching the ground. ~ Fred Thomas