JEFFREY RODEN: Threads of a Prayer Volume 2     CD    Solaire

I have not been witness to the first in this series, so it is a little difficult to compare and contrast; and indeed be party to the entirety of what Roden is trying to express here.  However, I can appreciate genuine musicianship; and as a whole, this as an album is very easy to listen to.

Pulling on solitude, Roden approaches his musicality from a quieter end of the spectrum.  Timpani, organ, piano and a quartet provide a necessary space for contemplation.  Peacefully plodding on, ‘TOAPV2’ places each not carefully and lets them linger in the air, providing the listener time to digest each reverberation, before moving onto the next.

If I have any concern, it is that this latest piece of work never truly gets going.  I love some of the piano arrangements, but they’re so few and far between that I felt disengaged by the time they filtered through the mix. Although admittedly, when they do appear, they’re beautifully sparse and endearing.  Altogether, this is a near silent release, which requires a great deal of patience.

7.5/10